Not merely Tk 100,000 or Tk 200,000, or even Tk 500,000 or Tk 1,000,000. Not even Tk 2,000,000 or Tk 3,000,000, or Tk 5,000,000 each—four unfortunate youths from Shariatpur could not go to Italy despite spending Tk 6.4 million each. Two of them returned home destitute on Wednesday.
The four youths—Altaf Hossain, Ahsan Ullah, Mizan, and Swapan—had sold their land in the hope of changing their fate and migrating to Italy. But they lost everything after falling into the trap of brokers and international human trafficking rings. After reaching Libya, Altaf and Ahsan tried to cross the sea to Italy twice, without success, after being deceived. Although they finally returned home with their lives, they now have only emptiness and bitter experiences in their hands.
The two youths arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Wednesday evening on an EgyptAir flight (MS-970). About 50 other Bangladeshi victims returned to the country on the same flight. According to their statements, more than fifty Bangladeshis are still waiting to return from the Libyan detention centre.
Of the four youths, Altaf and Mizan hailed from the village of Manua in Bhedarganj Upazila of Shariatpur. Ahsan's home is in Arjipam, and Swapan's home is in another village in the same upazila.
Altaf and Ahsan became emotional after returning home. With tears in their eyes, they said they were left destitute due to the fraud committed by broker Harun Laskar and his Libyan expatriate son Emon. About Tk 6.4 million was taken from each of them. Pappu Laskar, another son of Harun Laskar, an expatriate in Italy, had tempted them with promises of easily reaching Italy.
According to the agreement, Tk 1.6 million was taken from each of them in the first phase. Then they were taken from Dhaka to Chennai, to Sri Lanka, and from there to Dubai, Egypt, and finally Benghazi, Libya.
After reaching Libya, the gang sold them to mafias. They were detained and tortured and had to pay another Tk 2.3 million to be sent by sea. Later, the gang members themselves informed the police and had them arrested, and then took another Tk 300,000 for their release.
Altaf alleged that Emon later arranged another attempt through a new group to cross the sea again, for which they paid Tk 700,000. But they were handed over to the police again and had to pay another Tk 1.3 million for their release.
When the traffickers tried to send them to Italy by boat once more, they begged for their lives, refused to take any more risks, and pleaded to return home. The broker’s son Emon also charged Tk 205,000 per person for return tickets, while the actual price was around Tk 130,000 only.
Ahsan Ullah said, “All the money was given to the broker Harun Laskar.” They said they plan to take legal action to prosecute the fraud and recover their money. When contacted over the phone, Harun Laskar denied the allegation, claiming that he also suffered significant financial losses and was not involved, stating that it was his son who sent the people.
