A racket that duped people out of billions of taka by luring them with promises of lucrative jobs in Italy has been exposed, with its ringleader, Josna Khatun, 35, now under arrest.
The group not only issued fake visas in exchange for vast sums of money but also promised appointments to high-level government posts, and in many cases seized victims’ passports to further harass them.
Josna Khatun was arrested from Ibrahimpur area that falls within the jurisdiction of Kafrul police station in the capital on Tuesday,
A team from the Dhaka metro (east) unit of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested her. Originally from Daljitpur village in Narail, Josna Khatun is married to Mehedi Hasan.
According to a CID press release, Josna is the prime accused in a fraud case filed with Paltan police station. The syndicate used to entice victims with the prospect of overseas jobs, demand large sums of money through multiple bank accounts, and then hand over forged visas. They also retained passports, adding another layer of coercion and intimidation.
Investigators have revealed that the network spans several districts, including Faridpur, Narail, Narsingdi, Kishoreganj, Chandpur, and Chattogram.
Earlier, another active member of the group, Milon Mia from Faridpur, had been arrested and produced before court.
Evidence suggests that he was responsible for recruiting victims from different localities.
Together, the syndicate is believed to have defrauded at least a hundred people, collecting several crores of taka under the guise of sending them abroad.