Brazil police have arrested eight Bangladeshi citizens on charge of human trafficking when Peru become popular route for illegal immigration to the US. Bangladesh police quoting their Brazilian counterpart said the trafficker duo is godfathers of international human trafficking cartel.
The arrestees Saiful Islam and Saiful Islam — one hails from Brahmanbaria and another from Cumilla.
During an anti-drug and human trafficking special drive local police detained the international traffickers. Of the eight conmen, six are serving jail terms as they were accomplice of the trafficking gang.
Composed of the cops from 32 countries including Bangladesh, United State of America and Canada, Brazilian police, who are expert in illegal drug and human trafficking prevention and investigation, are taking part in this operation.
A Criminal Investigation Department (CID) team of Bangladesh police have been staying in Brasilia — one of Brazil city — to interrogate these godfathers and their allies to find out the whole curtail and trying to dig up trafficking routes and tactics.
Moreover, CID officials have noted the statement from trafficking victims, who have been living in Sao Paulo city after becoming illegal, a few of them got political asylum but most of them are languishing in jails as local currency prices fell against the US dollar.
One of CID's human trafficking prevent team officers told The Business Post said that firstly Bangladesh-based human trafficking gang luring to the youth at villages or Dhaka based travel agency to send them USA or Canada on the promise of high salary.
Thus local rings embezzle around Tk12 lakh to Tk 13 lakh from each victim.
A Bangladeshi youth, daydreaming to go the US or Canada, is firstly asked to visit neighbouring countries India, Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, Malaysia etc through tourist visas after receiving a passport.
Later, they apply to Peru Embassy for a visit visa and end up colluding with human traffickers.
According to Bangladesh Police, a total of 19 trafficking victims have been reached to Lima, the capital city of Peru by flight at the middle of 2019 and stayed there for a few days. Then they sneaked into Brazil through porous border and easily are transported to Sao Paulo, Brasilia or Rio de Janeiro city by bus or trekking in the unsafe forest.
Superintend of Police (CID) Syeda Jannat Ara, who took part the anti-drug, human trafficking special operation in Brazil on behalf Bangladesh police, told The Business Post that the 19 trafficked persons reached the USA.
But three of them were detained by border police and sent back to Bangladesh.
Migration experts say human traffickers' main target is to send them to the USA and Canada. In this case they are using Colombia, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Mexico as trafficking routes via Brazil; these countries are apathetic to protect illegal trafficking due to backward economy and human resources development. Local conmen in exchange for bribe help reach the US-Mexico border.
A senior officer of CID's human trafficking prevention team said, “Trafficking rackets have put a network from village or Dhaka city to hook young people who are eager to go to western countries. To reach USA border from Brazil the illegal immigrants have to traverse around 5000km-long distance. But those, who don't agree to travel 5000 km, stay in the Sao Paulo, Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro city.
Brazil police forces informed the Bangladeshi CID team that at least 1500 Bangladesh citizens living at Sao Paulo and thousand others are living in Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro. Although many of them have already got asylum opportunities as the process is easy.
Most of them live by tailoring and they have been trafficked to this country. They are living in poverty as the value of the local currency (Real) dropped to Tk16.50 against Tk50-60 earlier.
Bangladesh police have communicated in Brazil with multiple asylum seekers, who sold ancestral land hoping for good luck. Most of the illegal immigrants talked about their dream to live in developed country and to earn a lot of money.
Bangladesh police informed through conversation with the trafficking victims that Joynal Abedin is the top godfather who have controlled the Peru-Brazil-USA illegal human trafficking routes for Bangladeshis.
Like Saiful, Joynal too hails from Brahmanbaria, once he has been trafficked to Brazil. His family shifted to this county and rapidly gained a lot of wealth assets by human trafficking.
CID officials said one kind of immigration lawyers used to make fake asylum documents for illegal immigrants in association with international trafficking rings for huge amounts of money in the US and Canada. Each asylum seeker pays them around USD 23,500 to USD 35,000.
That's why US border police imposed strict monitoring to prevent illegal crossing.
Under an agreement with the Brazilian government cracks down on human trafficking rackets, US border police have been checking passports from other countries at Brazil's domestic and international airports for the past few years.
The US authority is also concerned about drug trafficking with human traffickers from Colombia, the world's leading producer and trafficker of drugs, according to Bangladesh Police.
“I don't know about the special operation on drugs and human trafficking or the participation of Bangladesh police. However, North American countries, including Brazil are concerned as heavily trafficking and drug trafficking. We also want Bangladeshis not to be victims of human trafficking illegally,'' said Md. Zulfiqur Rahman, Bangladesh Ambassador to Brasilia, Brazil to The Business Post.
hj/wi
