Rab rescues 39 trafficking victims

The Rapid Action Battalion has rescued 39 Libya-bound illegal migrants at Shah Amanat International Airport.

However, 21 fortune seekers left for the war-torn North African country on an Air Arabia flight before a Rab-7 team launched the drive at the airport on Wednesday.

Most of the rescued victims are from different districts of Sylhet and Dhaka divisions. Some of them told The Daily Star that they wanted to go to Italy via Libya for jobs under contracts with some middlemen. They were supposed to pay the brokers Tk 4 to 5 lakh each after reaching the destination.

After primary interrogation of the victims, the Rab prepared a list of 30 brokers. Of them, two are now in Libya while the rest in Bangladesh.

Speaking at a press conference at the Rab-7 headquarters in Patenga yesterday afternoon, Commanding Officer Col Miftah Uddin Ahmed said they had information that 130 illegal migrants would take two Air Arabia flights to Libya at 10:10am and 12:30pm on Wednesday.

The Rab team rescued 19 illegal migrants who would take the first flight.

“However, 21 managed to fly as they boarded the flight before the Rab team reached the airport…. We have already informed the Bangladesh embassy in Libya to take necessary measures for their safety,” said the Rab-7 chief.

Later, 20 more illegal migrants, who were supposed to take the second flight, were rescued. In the mean time, brokers informed 70 more passengers of that flight not to come to the airport, said Miftah.

According to him, the illegal migrants were supposed to be taken to Dubai first. From there, they would be flown to Libya via Turkey.

The Rab suspects many of the victims travelled on fake visas. It found that some of their visas have already expired while those of few others would expire in a day. Even photocopies of some original visas were pasted on passport pages.

Miftah said two Sylhet-based travel agencies, Shamim Tours and Travels and Al Mamun Travels, were involved in the illegal trade.

“A syndicate of brokers entices poor and unemployed people with promises of lucrative jobs abroad. They pledge the victims to take them to Libya without spending money beforehand. But once the victims reach Libya, they torture the victims and inform their family members over the phone about their suffering for realising money,” he added.

Husain Ahammed, 19, of Biswanath upazila in Sylhet, told this correspondent that many men from his area went to Italy via Libya in last five to six months.

He became interested in going to the European country after seeing migrants' photos on a social networking site. He contacted a local broker to take him to Libya for TK 4.2 lakh. From there, he would board a boat to Italy.

Hedyat Ullah, a tea stall owner and father of three children, wanted to go to Libya to boost his earnings. He said he met a middleman who already sent some local people to Libya. He didn't see any risk in the process as he would not have to pay the broker beforehand.

The Rab official said they would hand over the rescued victims to police and file a case against the 30 middlemen.