Dhaka, Nov 13 More than 70 Bangladeshi human traffickers have been named in the Red Notice List of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol). Bangladesh itself has shared the details of these traffickers with the organisation.
One of these traffickers, who is also considered a kingpin of the racket, is Minto Mia. Mia is the first Bangladeshi trafficker named in the list of wanted fugitives this week. He has been described as deceiving job seekers and "wrongfully confining and killing" people over ransom demands.
Presently, 7,368 criminals from all over the world have been named in the list.
According to the Interpol, 41-year-old Mia is a resident of Kishoreganj district in Bangladesh.
"He is the one of the traffickers that Bangladesh has asked Interpol to add to its list and law enforcement agencies want to locate and arrest him," said Syeda Zannat Ara, Special Superintendent of CID of Bangladesh Police.
These traffickers trick people from Bangladesh to grab money from by promising lucrative jobs in abroad. But actually, after taking the initial amount, the traffickers keep victims hostage in Libya and torture them for more money, said the police.
"Putting their details on the Interpol will restrict their movement because they will be 'wanted'; no matter which country they go to," Jannat Ara said.
More than 70 Bangladeshi, who are on Interpol's Red Notice list, which seeks the provisional arrest of fugitives, for prosecution or to serve a sentence, on charges that include murder, use of counterfeit money and distribution of pornography.
"I think reaching out to the Interpol is a praiseworthy initiative," said Ashraful Islam, a labour counsellor at the Bangladesh embassy in Libya.
"Hopefully this will help arrest the main culprits and prevent Bangladeshis from being trafficked here ... we will have to wait and see how effective this move will be," he added.
The United Nations' migration agency IOM has estimated that there are at least 20,000 Bangladeshi migrants in Libya - considered a gateway to Europe - accounting for about three per cent of the migrant population.
Hasan, who returned to Bangladesh from Libya in 2018 after being held by traffickers for three months, lauded the police's decision to use Interpol to nab traffickers.
"If the police want, I will help them catch the traffickers because I know the pain ... it has been two years, and I am yet to recover the money I have lost," said the 42-year-old, who declined to give his first name.
(Sumi Khan can be contacted at sumikhan29bdj@gmail.com)
( With inputs from IANS )
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