Raid outside Agargaon passport office: seven members of broker gang jailed

SRB-2 has detained 12 members of a broker gang in a raid in the area adjoining the Agargaon passport office in the capital. Seven of them were later sentenced to simple imprisonment for varying terms through a mobile court.

The 12 were detained on Monday in a special operation conducted by SRB-2. A mobile court led by SRB executive magistrate Kazi Tamjid Ahmed then handed down the prison terms to seven of them.

Among those sentenced, one received 10 days, two received seven days and four received five days of simple imprisonment.

The remaining five detainees were released, as preliminary interrogation found no link between them and the broker gang.

In a press release, SRB-2 said an organised broker gang had long been harassing people who came to seek services at the Agargaon passport office and its surrounding area.

According to the release, the gang extracted large sums of money from clients with promises of filling in passport forms, attestation, making up for missing documents, preparing incorrect or fake papers and delivering passports quickly.

SRB-2 also received complaints that in many cases the gang took money without delivering the passport and harassed clients with forged documents.

The release added that SRB-2 operations against the broker gang centred on the Agargaon passport office will continue.