The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in Kishoreganj has detained four more men in connection with their suspected involvement in the trafficking of some of the 26 Bangladeshis who were killed in Libya on May 28.
The detainees, identified as Helal Ahmed Helu, 45, Khabir Uddin, 42, Shahid Miya, 61, and Munni Akter Rupshi, 25 are residents of Bhairab upazila of Kishoreganj.
Personnel of the elite force conducted separate drives and detained them from different areas in the upazila on Tuesday night, said Chandan Debnath, Senior Assistant Director, RAB 14 CPC 3.
The detainees are suspected to be members of a human trafficking gang that sent some of the Bangladeshis to Libya, where they were killed a week ago, he said.
The arrests are a continuation of ongoing investigations following the arrest of another human trafficker, Kamal Hossain alias Hazi Kamal, 55, who was held in Dhaka on Friday.
Kamal has been accused of being the leader of a group illegally sending Bangladeshis to foreign countries.
According to RAB sources, Kamal's group has trafficked hundreds of Bangladeshis to the Middle East and Libya.
Kamal has smuggled over 400 people to Libya over the past decade, including some of the Bangladeshis who were killed there last week.
What happened in Libya?
A group of 42 migrants, including 38 Bangladeshis, were held captive in Mizdah, 180 kilometres (112 miles) from Libya’s capital Tripoli, before being readied for trafficking to Europe.
According to the Bangladesh embassy in Libya, the migrants were shot after they killed the leader of the abductors.
Dozens of hostages, including 26 Bangladeshis, died and 11 more were injured.
On Monday, Libya vowed to ensure swift justice, condemning the “cowardly” killing.
The Civil Society for Global Commitments on Migration, a network of Bangladeshi NGOs, has said nearly 700 Bangladeshis were rescued while trying to enter Europe illegally between January and April this year.
According to the UNHCR, about 2.5 million people crossed the Mediterranean from 2014 to April 2020, with 19,000 of them losing their lives during the dangerous voyage.
Libya has been home to a large number of migrants, including some trying to use it as a stopover on the way to Europe.
