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The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested seven members of a suspected human trafficking network involved in sending migrants to Italy using fake visa and travel documents.
The operation was carried out by the CID’s Human Trafficking Branch (THB) in Dhaka’s Gulshan-1 area on Monday, according to an official statement.
During the raid, officers recovered 56 passports, 153 forged seals from various government, private, and international organization, an embossing seal, three CPUs, a laptop, and Tk 250,000 in cash.
Investigators said the group lured hopeful migrants with promises of Italian visas, took large sums of money, and unlawfully held onto their passports.
In one case, a woman paid Tk 440,000 for a visa but later found at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport that another unidentified person had already traveled to Italy on April 24 using her documents.
Authorities said the syndicate manipulated official papers to swap genuine visa holders with other victims, facilitating illegal migration while deceiving victims.
Initial findings indicate that the alleged mastermind, Belayet Hossain, has been running such operations since 2016 and is believed to have sent around 30 people to Italy through fraudulent means. He is currently out on bail in a similar case filed in 2024.
A case has been filed against the accused under the Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Prevention and Suppression Act, 2026, along with other relevant sections of the Penal Code.
CID officials said investigations are ongoing, including forensic and financial analysis, to uncover more members of the network, both at home and abroad, and to identify additional victims.