An estimated figure of Tk10,000 crore was laundered by Bangladeshi human traffickers living in Middle East countries, including Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in last 10 years.
“We think that the figure would not be less than Tk10,000 crore as Bangladeshi human traffickers are confining the migrants in Mideast countries and collecting money by their local agents in Bangladesh,” Criminal Investigation Department’s Additional DIG Md Shah Alam told a press conference at the CID office in the capital yesterday.
The press conference was organised on arrival of 12 migrants who fell victim to traffickers in Iran.
Speaking on the occasion, Shah Alam said UAE-based traffickers target the established migrants there and allure them with promising lucrative jobs and high wages in the European countries, including Greece, Turkey and Italy.
Later, the traffickers take them to Iran and confine them in different houses, and force them to pay from Tk3 lakh-Tk18 lakh by the relatives of migrants in Bangladesh, according to an investigation conducted by CID.
The local agents collect the money through bKash and SA Paribahan.
Traffickers in the UAE usually target those migrants who are unaware of banking channel and regularly send money home. These migrants hand over money to traffickers and their local agents pay the victims’ relatives.
Referring to a recent letter sent to the senior secretary of the Home Ministry from Bangladesh embassy in Iran, Shah Alam said a total of 2,000 victims were expatriated from Iran in last one and half years.
Each of these victims has to pay Tk300,000-Tk1,800,000. On average, a victim has to pay Tk500,000-Tk600,000.
“We have estimated an amount of Tk120 crore in a single case,” the CID official said. He added: “We have found that the traffickers have been continuing with this illegal business for about 10 years.”
The CID official lamented that the victims’ families are not aware of legal steps which, he thinks, helped the traffickers continue their illegal business for a long time.
“At the beginning of 2013, we start dealing with the issue seriously and now we are investigating around 30 cases. We have already identified the traffickers and arrested their local agents,” the official added.
Twelve victims returned home yesterday with the assistance of Bangladesh embassy in Iran, CID and Rights Jessore, a non-governmental organisation working for the migrants who fall victim to human trafficking.
