Racket smuggling Nigerians into Bangladesh uncovered

Indian police have arrested the suspected mastermind of smuggling Nigerian citizens into Bangladesh. The development came as 13 nationals of the African state were trafficked to Bangladesh via Muhurichar and Belonia areas of South Tripura district in India over the last 11 months. Ippar Manchak, Superintendent of Police (South) in India, revealed the update after  the police led by him arrested Ajoy Baidya from Agartala airport in possession of a car, when he was trying to set off for Kolkata. Upon his production at an Agartala court, the arrestee was put on a three-day remand, thus, disclosing how he was operating the entire process of people smuggling. Baidya, as the police said, had been linked to a racket active in other parts of India, which used to send the Nigerians to him. After receiving them at Agartala airport,  he used to take them to Belonia and finally facilitate their journey to Bangladesh. The police are still interrogating Baidya, a resident of Belonia’s IC Nagar, and trying to gather information about others’ complicity in the crime ring, as well as other trafficking agents in Tripura. Moreover, the police are also trying to know if more Nigerians were trafficked by Baidya. Indian police sources revealed that a racket is active in Bangladesh, which is helping the foreigners in procuring fake visas there and fly back to their native country. “There are reports that some locals of Tripura have established a link with some mafia groups at Parshuram upazila of Feni in Bangladesh, which is opposite to Belonia,” said  Manchak. The racket in India is working in collaboration with the Bangladeshi mafia group members, he added.