Bangladeshi prostitutes, kingpin arrested by Surat police

Surat : Surat police have busted a human trafficking and prostitution network, which resulted in the arrest of six Bangladeshi nationals and the capture of the accused mastermind behind the illegal business. The police conducted the operation in Surat’s Udhana and Palsana areas, with the support of human resources and technology monitoring, discovering a network of deception and exploitation.

The major persons engaged in the trafficking network were detained in a combined operation headed by the Special Operations Group (SOG) and the Prevention of Crime Branch (PCB).

Tarikul Mandal, Bobby Tarikul Mandal, Mafiz-Ur-Rahman Mia, and Sumona Sheikh, all inhabitants of Aradhana community in Palsana, have been identified as the detained Bangladeshi nationals. Mohammad Fazrabbi and Sharifa Khatun were also caught at the Choksi Apartment in Dagina Nagar, Udhana.

Ibrahim alias Raj Sheikh, the suspected mastermind of this plot, was apprehended in Dagina Nagar, Udhana. Interrogation of the Bangladeshi nationals showed his crucial involvement in aiding their illegal immigration into India from Bangladesh.

Ibrahim Sheikh ran a human trafficking enterprise that predominantly targeted Bangladeshi women. He attracted economically challenged people from his homeland of Paroli village in Bangladesh with the promise of greater salaries in India. His strategy involves transporting these people from Bangladesh’s Satkhira border to the Indian town of Bangaon in West Bengal.

Once in India, Ibrahim Sheikh worked with two business enterprises in Surat city and district to arrange for the women’s transit by train and aircraft from Kolkata. Shahid Khan, a resident of Ahmedabad’s Noblenagar, developed counterfeit Indian identification papers, including Aadhaar cards and other evidence of Indian citizenship, to allow their stay and work in India.

According to the authorities, Ibrahim Sheikh charged Rs 90,000 each individual for smuggling Bangladeshi people into India. Shahid Khan is now sought by law enforcement for manufacturing fraudulent Aadhaar cards and other Indian papers for Bangladeshi citizens.

Surat police seized critical evidence such as five mobile phones, eight Aadhaar cards, three PAN cards, copies of Bangladeshi passports and national ID cards, Indian birth certificates, ATM cards from Bangladeshi banks, copies of Bangladesh Covid-19 vaccine certificates, school board certificates, and marriage certificates during the operation.