The job seekers arrived at Zia International Airport by a flight of Etihad Airways at 10:00am. On arrival, they underwent extensive questioning at immigration that revealed that the fortune seekers were deceived by different travel agencies.

Immigration officials said the 11 Bangladeshis left for Dubai in different flights on March 27, April 1 and 2 and could not get access through the immigration at Dubai Airport due to faulty travel documents and passports.

Most of them were kept confined in the airport custody in Dubai for around a week and finally sent back home yesterday.

The victims said some brokers in connivance with some travel agencies realised money ranging from Tk 1.20lakh to Tk 2 lakh from each of them, assuring them of providing lucrative jobs in Dubai.

"I gave Tk 1.40 lakh to a travel agency through a broker after he assured me of a lucrative job in Dubai," said one of the victims, Mohammad Faruq of Munshiganj.

He said the staff of the travel agency gave him two passports and asked him to tear apart one after leaving ZIA. They also asked him to show the other passport at Dubai Airport where some people of the travel agency will meet him and escort him out.

"As per their suggestion, I showed the other passport to the immigration officials at Dubai Airport, but they found dissimilarity between my name and the name on the passport," Faruq told journalists at ZIA, adding that the visa issued to him was also not valid.

He said the Dubai immigration officials arrested him and confined him in their custody for a week.

Another victim Abdur Razzak of Sirajganj said a travel agency sent him to Dubai on April 1 with a tourist visa, but they told him that he was going there on a work visa. He was also caught at Dubai Airport and confined in airport custody as immigration officials there found inconsistency between his statement and documents.

Immigration police at ZIA said they have identified around 1000 brokers and some fake travel agencies against whom action will be taken very soon.

"We are investigating the matter to find out the persons involved in the syndicate," said Addition Superintendent of Police (immigration) AKM Ehsanullah.