Two Held at Meherpur's Gangni Border Over Portugal Trafficking Lure, Brokers Flee

A broker gang was trying to take two men across the border with the lure of reaching Portugal illegally via India. Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) detained the two men at the Gangni border in Meherpur. The brokers involved in the incident, however, fled.

A BGB patrol team detained them on Thursday (November 5) afternoon during a raid at Dholar Math area, about 200 yards inside Bangladesh from border pillar 135/7-S of the Dhala BOP in Gangni upazila.

The Kushtia Battalion (47 BGB) confirmed the information in a press release sent at 5:46 pm on Thursday.

The detainees are Emran Hossain, son of Md Alamgir Hossain of Ghoshbagh village in Kabirhat upazila of Noakhali, and Rezaul Karim (27), son of Shamsul Haque of Char Kakra village in Companiganj upazila.

The BGB press release said the raid at Dholar Math was carried out based on intelligence information. The two men were detained while trying to cross into India illegally from Bangladesh.

Two Bangladeshi passports, 8,050 Indian rupees, 4,202 Bangladeshi taka, two mobile phones, a power bank and a wristwatch were seized from them.

The release added that during preliminary questioning, the detainees said an unidentified Bangladeshi broker had lured them with the promise of taking them to Portugal via India and induced them to cross the border illegally.

The detainees said the broker had left them at Dholar Math to hand them over to another broker, and then fled.

The two detainees have been handed over to Gangni police station for legal action. Efforts are under way to identify the members of the broker gang involved, the BGB said.

In the press release, the BGB said it remains alert to protect the country's sovereignty and border security and to prevent illegal entry, human trafficking, smuggling and the activities of broker gangs.

The BGB urged the public to stay aware of gangs that induce people to cross the border illegally with promises of jobs abroad and a better life.