Bangladesh arrests trafficking suspects

Bangladesh arrested three suspects in a human trafficking ring yesterday after dozens of migrants from the South Asian country drowned trying to reach Europe, police said.

The arrests followed the deaths of at least 65 migrants who drowned in the Mediterranean last week after setting sail from Libya. About half were Bangladeshis and had been lured with false promises of lucrative jobs in Europe, the government said.

“These people spread lies and took advantage of those who wanted to go abroad,” said Sujoy Sarker, an officer with the Rapid Action Battallion, Bangladesh’s elite police force. Each victim had paid between

$4,700 and $6,000, he added.

“Once in Libya, some of these migrants are trained to drive boats. These boats, packed with people, then attempt to cross the sea into Europe,” Sarker said.

Bangladesh is one of the world’s largest exporters of manpower, with thousands travelling abroad every year to seek work.

But the hunt for these jobs depends largely on unlicensed brokers working in rural areas and opens the door to trafficking, campaigners say.

Bangladesh police arrested 1,310 people accused of trafficking, although just eight were convicted last year. Campaigners say the low conviction rate is a major obstacle to preventing human trafficking.

“The trafficking law, made seven years ago, isn’t being implemented properly and unless that happens, the number of victims won’t decrease,” said Shakirul Islam, head of the Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Program which deals with migrant rights.

In a bid to curb exploitative tactics used by unscrupulous brokers and curb trafficking, the government launched a portal last month to connect job seekers to licensed recruitment agencies directly.

RAB said the victims who drowned last week had travelled to Libya through India, Sri Lanka, Dubai and Jordan all countries where the traffickers had agents.

Libya is a main departure point for migrants hoping to reach Europe by paying human traffickers, though numbers have dropped due to an Italianled effort to disrupt smuggling networks and support the Libyan coast guard.