Father pays Tk 500,000 ransom for son in Libya, kidnappers demand another Tk 4.2m

Hoping to get his son back alive, 70-year-old Abdus Samad sent a total of Tk 500,000 on several occasions to mobile phone numbers provided by traffickers. He had been told that once the money was received, he would be allowed to speak to his son.

But the traffickers did not keep their promise even after taking the money. Instead, they demanded another Tk 4.2 million in ransom from the father, assuring him that his son would be rescued.

Special Superintendent of Police Md Shufiullah of the Criminal Investigation Department’s (CID) Media Wing told Prothom Alo on Friday, that the victim, Abdus Samad, is from Monmot Bipujipara village in Sundarganj upazila of Gaibandha. His son, Md Saiful, is 39 years old.

In connection with the incident, the CID arrested two members of a human trafficking ring on charges of fraud. They are Md Monowar Hossain, 40, and Md Sohel Rana, 45, both from Chandpur village in Singra upazila of Natore.

They were arrested Thursday afternoon, in the Singra Bazar area of Natore.

The CID said Saiful had travelled to Libya nearly two years ago through a Bangladeshi broker, Sohel, hoping to improve his family’s financial condition. However, after arriving there, he was held captive by a human trafficking ring.

According to sources involved in the investigation, at around noon on 5 August last year, Saiful’s wife received a call on her mobile phone from a Libyan number. The caller said Saiful was being held in their custody and demanded Tk 3 million in ransom for his safe return. Otherwise, he would be killed.

The kidnappers also said that no one in Saiful’s family would be allowed to speak to him until half of the ransom had been paid.

The CID further said that family members began trying to raise the money to save Saiful’s life. Between 10 and 25 August last year, they sent a total of Tk 500,000 on several occasions to multiple mobile phone numbers provided by the accused. The money was sent from a bKash shop in the Hall Mor area of Bamandanga in Sundarganj police station’s jurisdiction.

The family hoped that, at the very least, they would be able to speak to Saiful after sending the money. But even after receiving the money, the accused did not arrange any contact between Saiful and his family.

Sohel, a man, subsequently contacted Saiful’s wife. Saying he had all the information about Saiful, he told her that, if necessary, he would travel to Libya himself, rescue him and bring him back to Bangladesh.

With this assurance, he asked Saiful’s wife to meet him in the Kadamtali area of Dhaka. However, when she went there and tried to contact him, she found that Sohel’s mobile phone was switched off.

Later, someone contacted Saiful’s father, Abdus Samad, from another number. This time, he was asked to pay a further Tk 4.2 million in ransom for his son’s release. He was told that Saiful was being held by two men named Mokarram and Anwar, who were in Libya. They were the ones who provided Abdus Samad’s mobile phone number.

CID official Md Shufiullah said Abdus Samad, already anxious about his son’s life, faced repeated ransom demands and fraud. Eventually, he made it clear that he would not pay any more money unless he was allowed to speak directly to his son. Since then, neither he nor Saiful’s wife has received any further calls.

Having been defrauded and fearing for his son’s life, Abdus Samad filed a case at Sundarganj Police Station on 5 September last year. He is the complainant in the case, filed under the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act. The case was later transferred to the CID for investigation.

The CID said those involved in the incident were identified on the basis of information, evidence and intelligence gathered during the investigation. As part of the process, Monowar Hossain and Sohel Rana were arrested in a raid in the Singra Bazar area of Natore on Thursday.

The CID said it was trying to identify other people involved in human trafficking by questioning the arrested men and analysing other information and evidence related to the case.

They said they are also gathering information about where Saiful is being held in Libya and how he can be rescued. Efforts are also under way to identify and bring to justice other members of the domestic and international human trafficking rings involved in the incident.

The CID has urged everyone to verify the legitimacy of the relevant individuals, agencies, visas and recruiting organisations before travelling abroad. The case is under investigation.