4 Nigerian nationals among 9 held in Dhaka

Detective Branch (DB) of Police has detained nine people, including four Nigerian nationals, from different areas of Dhaka. Among the detained, Jhon Agodi UGO, Liza Akther alias Eshta, Afeez, Mohammad Mohsin Sheikh, Tasmia Parveen alias Shimu, Mikel Eugene Obumneme and Namdi Kelvin, were held on charges of fraud. Meanwhile, Mohammad Jamal Hossain and Mohammad Mojibur Rahman were detained for alleged links to human trafficking. DMP Joint Commissioner Abdul Baten confirmed the matter at a press briefing held in the DMP Media Centre on Thursday. According to the commissioner, the fraud ring would send friend requests to potential victims from a Facebook account under the name of Prisca Khalifa. They would then attempt to con those who responded to the request by claiming that "Prisca" needed some money for "processing purposes" in order to withdraw a significant amount left to her by her late father. The fraudsters would then abscond with the victim's money. The fraud ring was brought to police attention after Kamruzzaman, a victim, informed them of the matter. The commissioner added that Liza Akther had 10-12 accounts in various banks, and had conducted transactions amounting to Tk1.5 crore in the last month alone. He further said there was evidence to suggest the money was sent to Pakistani citizen Danesh Rijvi through corrupt money exchange officials. In addition, Joint Commissioner Abdul Baten said Nigerian national Jhon Agodi UGO was the accused in a drug case and was out on bail. When asked why foreign felons were not deported,the commissioner said: "We have arrested many foreigners, the majority of whom are African, for various crimes. Many of these individuals destroy their documents after their visa expires. As such, they have no identity verification, which makes them difficult to deport." Regarding the suspected human traffickers, Commissioner Baten said Jamal Hossain and Mojibur Rahman  allegedly traffic people overseas for a fee, before holding them ransom and extorting even more money from family members of the trafficking victim. He added that legal action would be taken against the two.