Gaibandha youth Saiful held hostage in Libya, Tk 42 lakh more demanded after Tk 5 lakh paid — two arrested in Singra
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested two men accused of involvement in holding a youth named Md Saiful hostage in Libya and demanding Tk 42 lakh in ransom from his family. The arrested men are Md Monowar Hossain, 40, and Md Sohel Rana, 45.
They were arrested on Thursday (12 November) afternoon from the Singra Bazar area of Natore. The CID says the two are members of a human trafficking ring.
The information was given on Friday in a press release signed by CID Special Superintendent of Police (Media) Md Chhufi Ullah.
According to the CID, Md Saiful, 39, son of Abdus Samad of Monmot Bipujipara village in Sundarganj upazila of Gaibandha, went to Libya about two years ago through a broker named Sohel, hoping to restore his family's financial stability. After reaching there, a human trafficking ring took him hostage.
The case took a turn on 5 August 2025, when a call from a Libyan number to Saiful's wife's mobile phone said Saiful had been detained. A ransom of Tk 30 lakh was demanded for his safe return, with threats that he would otherwise be killed.
The kidnappers also said half of the ransom had to be paid first before the family would be allowed to speak to Saiful.
The family began trying to raise the money to save his life. Between 10 and 25 August 2025, family members sent a total of Tk 5 lakh in several instalments from a bKash shop at Bamondanga Hall Mor in Sundarganj to multiple numbers given by the accused.
But even after receiving the money, the ring did not let the family speak to Saiful.
A man named Sohel then contacted Saiful's wife claiming he had all the information about Saiful. Promising to go to Libya himself and rescue Saiful if needed, he asked her to come to the Kadamtoli area of Dhaka. When she went there and tried to contact him, Sohel's mobile phone was found switched off.
Later, Abdus Samad, Saiful's father, was contacted from another number. A further Tk 42 lakh was demanded in the name of rescuing his son. He was told Saiful was being held by two men named Mokarram and Anwar in Libya, and that his mobile number had been collected from them.
Abdus Samad made clear he would not pay any more money unless he was allowed to speak directly to his son. After that, the kidnappers stopped contacting the family.
Feeling cheated and fearing for his son's life, Abdus Samad filed a case at Sundarganj police station on 5 September last year on charges of human trafficking and fraud. The CID's THB unit took over the investigation.
Based on information gathered in the investigation, evidence and intelligence, Monowar Hossain and Sohel Rana were identified, and a raid in Singra, Natore, led to their arrest. Both men are from Chandpur village in Singra upazila.
The CID said interrogation of the two arrestees and analysis of case data are under way to identify others involved in the ring, the trafficking route and Saiful's whereabouts in Libya. Efforts continue to rescue him and bring other members of the domestic and foreign trafficking ring under the law.
