A human trafficking ring is ensnaring Bangladeshi youth by luring them to Canada, Europe or other countries via Bangladesh via Nepal. The ring is taking the youth hostage in the name of sending them abroad and extorting large sums of money from their families through torture. BRAC’s migration program has recently rescued three Bangladeshis who were deceived in this way.

BRAC’s Migration Program made this information public in a media alert on Sunday (November 2). The non-governmental organization urged those traveling abroad to be aware in such situations.

In this regard, Shariful Hasan, associate director of BRAC, said that they recently received news from a person from Sylhet that three people, including his brother, were being tempted to send them to Canada. The temptation was that all expenses would have to be paid after reaching Canada. Accordingly, the three were taken to Nepal on October 13. There, they were kept in a hotel, the gang took away their passports and mobile phones and held them hostage at gunpoint. Then, the gang put Canadian visas and tickets on the hostages’ passports and sent the photos to their families.

Later, they contacted the family from a Canadian WhatsApp number, claiming to have reached Canada, and asked the local broker to pay 500,000 taka. Then, another 120,000 taka was demanded from each of them. When the family wanted to talk, the hostages were forced to talk at gunpoint—’We have reached Canada. The company has arranged for 15 days of training.’ But when one of the family became suspicious, they asked the local broker to find out the incident. The family of one of the people assured them that they would pay 120,000 taka immediately if they delivered their brother to someone they knew in Canada. But the traffickers then started to falter and increased the level of torture and asked them to pay the money quickly.

BRAC said that the families contacted them on October 26, informing them of the entire incident and all the details, and requested their rescue. BRAC then contacted the CID (Crime Investigation Department) and Nepal. A case was filed at the Kotwali Police Station of the Sylhet Metropolitan Police under the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act. That night, a local broker was arrested in a joint operation by the Sylhet Metropolitan Police and CID. When the news of the arrest reached the traffickers in Nepal, they released the three near Kathmandu Airport around 3 am that day. When they returned to Dhaka on October 30, BRAC’s Emergency Response Team assisted them. Then, intelligence agency officials recorded their statements.

BRAC says that not only Canada, but also other countries, including Europe, America, and Australia, are taking people to Nepal, where they are detained and tortured at gunpoint, and then extorted money. Since Nepal does not require a visa and visas are available on arrival, traffickers choose Nepal first.

Many people are falling into the trap of temptation, especially ‘the money can be paid after reaching Canada’. Although the Nepalese police have arrested several Bangladeshis in such incidents at different times, such fraud has not stopped. Therefore, just as it is important for ordinary foreign travelers to be aware, it is also important to inform the law enforcement agencies immediately if any such incident occurs. In addition, anyone who is in danger abroad can contact the BRAC Migration Welfare Center. BRAC will work to assist and rehabilitate them in coordination with various international and government organizations.