Human trafficking under the lure of taking to Italy, and two active members of this gang have been arrested, CID
Human trafficking under the lure of taking to Italy, and two active members of this gang have been arrested, CID.
MD Babul Bangladesh Correspondent
In the tragic death of 8 (eight) Bangladeshi citizens in a boat sinking off the coast of Tunisia while illegally crossing the Mediterranean Sea via Libya, while promising to send them legally to Italy, the Serious Crime Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Bangladesh Police has arrested two active members of the human trafficking gang in a raid in the Rajoir police station area of Madaripur district on January 12, 2026. The arrested are— Gurudas Barai (45), father: Subodh Barai, mother: Shishu Barai, resident: Dakshin Khalia, police station: Rajoir, district: Madaripur; and Md. Motaleb Matabbar (68), father: Abdul Sattar Matabbar, mother: Khotejan Begum, locality: Damerchar, police station: Rajoir, district: Madaripur. Gurudas Barai was arrested from Dakshin Khalia village under Rajoir police station and Md. Motaleb Matabbar was arrested from Damerchar Bazar area. It has been found that the arrested Md. Motaleb Matabbar (68) had a previous case under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009, which is being verified and reviewed as part of the investigation.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the arrested accused were actively involved in an international human trafficking ring and were working to collect money and people on the instructions of the main traffickers named in the complaint. They were directly and indirectly involved in the entire process of trafficking the victims abroad.
The human trafficking ring took about 14,00,000/- (fourteen lakhs) taka from victims from different parts of the country and assured them of sending them legally to Italy. Later, the victims were illegally sent to Libya and from there, they were loaded onto a dinghy with an additional passenger load to cross the Mediterranean Sea. On February 14, 2024, between approximately 11:30 pm and 4:30 am, the boat sank before reaching the Tunisian coast, killing 8 Bangladeshi citizens. The deceased were Sajal Bairagi (25), Mamun Sheikh (24), Nayan Biswas (18), Kazi Sajib (19), Kaiser Khalifa (35), Md. Rifat Sheikh (25), Russell Sheikh (19) and Imrul Kayes Apon (24). After the boat sank, the bodies of four of the deceased were preserved at Gabes University Hospital and the bodies of the other four were preserved at the morgue of Djerba General Hospital. Later, the bodies were brought to Bangladesh through the government process and handed over to the relatives.
After the incident, the father of the deceased Sajal Bairagi, Sunil Bairagi (59), filed a case (Airport Police Station Case No. 10 dated 19/04/24, Section 7/8 of the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act 2012, including Penal Code 302/34) at the Airport Police Station in Dhaka Metropolitan City.
Necessary measures have been taken to send the arrested accused to the learned court.
The investigation into the case is ongoing. Investigations are ongoing to identify and arrest other absconding and unidentified members involved in the incident, to determine through which accounts the proceeds of crime were transacted, and to uncover the entire criminal network.
