Promise of negative Covid report: Once-deceived migrant worker started running a racket
Rab has arrested 14 members of a fraud gang, which deceived outbound passengers of several crores of taka by assuring them of providing negative Covid-19 test reports needed for travel.
They were arrested from Dhaka and other districts after many deceived by the gang complained to different hospital authorities, Khandaker Al Moin, Rab's Legal and Media wing director, told a press conference today.
The arrestees are: Belal Hossain, Sabuz Mia, Jasim Uddin, Sultan Mia, Abul Hossain, Abdul Nur, Afzal Mia, Shamim, Ahmed Hossain, Emran Uddin, Abdur Rashid, Abdul Karim Chowdhury, Angur Mia and Alamgir Hossain.
Moin said that Belal, who worked in Oman, formed the group after he was deceived by a fraud in March last year.
Belal told Rab that he underwent Covid-19 test, a prerequisite for going abroad at that time, at a hospital in Cumilla before leaving for Oman.
A man identifying as doctor there told him that his test result came positive but promised to make it negative in exchange for Tk 10,000.
He paid the money, thinking he would not be able to board the flight on time otherwise.
Belal realised that he was deceived when the hospital authorities confirmed that he tested positive.
A month later, he underwent a second Covid-19 test when the result came negative and he left the country for Oman.
But before that he shared his experience of being cheated with his close friend Sabuz and pursued him to run a racket using similar tactics, the Rab official said.
Belal returned home four months later and recruited his other close friend Jasim in the racket.
Rab officials said Sabuz, once an auto-rickshaw driver, in last 10 months embezzled over Tk one crore -- taking Tk 10,000-15,000 from each of around 1000 expats, promising them negative Covid-19 test reports at designated hospitals, Rab said.
He has constructed a building in his village home with the money, he said.
Besides, Belal amassed Tk 50 lakh from around 600 Bangladeshi expats while the rest used to get Tk 25,000-30,000 per month through these fraudulent activities.
The Rab official said some of the gang members went to the hospitals in different districts, designated for Covid-19 tests for outbound passengers, and collected phone numbers of the expats.
Belal and Sabuz would call the numbers and tell them that their results came positive.
They took money from them, promising to change those reports into negative, Moin said.
After getting money, they used to switch off their numbers whereas the hospital authorities used to send actual reports to the victims' numbers.
Rab said no hospital staffers are found to be involved with the racket.
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