Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mimtanur Rahman of the Special Branch (SB) was transferred to the police headquarters on June 18 after reports emerged regarding the clearance of 30 Bangladeshi passengers who attempted to travel to Turkey with fake visas.
At the same time, three officials from the police headquarters were transferred to the immigration department. The transfer order was issued just hours after the Dhaka Tribune contacted OC Mimtanur, two Sub-Inspectors (SIs), and the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Immigration on June 18 regarding the incident.
The order, issued on June 18, 2025, under Order No 119/2025, instructs all officers to report to their new posts immediately and hand over responsibilities to their respective replacements in coordination with the DIG (SB). It cited “administrative reasons” for the transfers.
According to the official order, OC Mimtanur Rahman was transferred from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to the office of the DIG (SB) at SB Headquarters, Dhaka. Three other Additional Superintendents of Police (ASP)—Md Mehedi Hasan, Rajan Akhter, Ishtiaque Alam, and Nazneen Akhter—were transferred to the immigration wing at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. These officers have been newly posted to the airport and were previously stationed at the Special Branch (SB) office in Dhaka.
When the passengers were contacted, it was found that 95% of them had never travelled abroad before and were carrying connecting flight boarding passes to Egypt via Turkey. Despite clear irregularities in their documents and travel plans, they were allowed to board and cleared to travel to Turkey.
After news of the controversy emerged, SI Hafiz—one of the officers named in the report—called the reporter on his own volition and admitted that OC Mimtanur had played a central role.
How ‘Alpha-31’ cleared 30 passengers with fake visas at Dhaka airport“I was present that day as a prosecution officer, because I was on duty,” said Hafiz. “But the issue of these 30 passengers was handled by another officer. Juliyet took their passports and boarding passes directly to OC sir’s room and later returned them to the passengers.”
He further confirmed that “A-31,” seen written on the boarding passes, was OC Mimtanur’s wireless call sign. “That’s OC sir—Alpha-31. I am just a junior officer; I only deal with immigration.”
He also alleged that callsign Juliyet had dealt with other passengers in a similar manner in the past, including travelers to Malaysia and South Africa.
The Dhaka Tribune correspondent found that “Juliyet 1” is the call sign of SI Rahiatul Jannat, who was the visa-checking officer at the airport on June 11—the day the 30 passengers passed immigration.
SI Hafiz told the correspondent that he could not answer the call at the time because he was in his village on a personal matter, and only saw the call and message two days later.
It is to be noted that although the OC and the SI were contacted over two days, they did not respond. The correspondent has still not been able to reach the OC for a statement in this regard.
However, Dhaka Tribune has confirmed that Juliyet was still on duty at the airport’s immigration section as of June 19. Meanwhile, SI Hafiz said that he has been on leave since June 18.
When contacted again following the issuance of the transfer order, the Immigration Authority told Dhaka Tribune: “We took the fake visa immigration matter seriously. The transfer of OC Mimtanur was part of the action. The remaining officials listed in the order were transferred as part of regular administrative reshuffling.”
“This transfer is taking place—he has been called to SB Headquarters and asked to provide an explanation.”
A senior official from the authority said many people travel to different countries as illegal immigrants or with incomplete documentation throughout the year, facilitated by a cycle involving brokers, recruitment agencies, airline workers, and some immigration officials.
He added: “Every day, 25,000–30,000 passengers travel through this airport. It is often difficult to detect fake visas and documents among so many travelers. Among them, willingly or unwillingly, around 30 such passengers go through immigration despite visa complications and travel to various destinations. We are working on dismantling this entire nexus.”
On June 11, a total of 30 Bangladeshi passengers boarded Turkish Airlines flight TK 713 from Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport using fake Turkish e-visas. The C-shift immigration team was on duty at the time.
Two days later, the men, aged 20 to 28, were deported by Turkish airport police.
Most had no prior travel history, and many were visiting Dhaka for the first time. Despite working as daily wage labourers, shopkeepers, or garment workers, they claimed to be on a five-day trip to Turkey.
All cleared immigration in Dhaka without issue, but upon arrival, they remained in the Turkish airport without proceeding through immigration.
