Infiltration: Three more Bangladeshis arrested

KOCHI: The police have launched a special drive to identify Bangladeshi infiltrators. The central intelligence agencies have also intensified surveillance. Three Bangladeshis were arrested yesterday in Ernakulam district, which has the highest number of migrant workers in the state. The arrested individuals are Muhammad Rabbi Islam (20), Muhammad Najmul Sheikh (25), and Sumayya Akhtar (21). This brings the total arrests in the district to six in January alone. These individuals reportedly entered the country through human traffickers from West Bengal and northeastern states.

The infiltrators often use addresses from Murshidabad district in West Bengal for fake documents. Hossein Belorin (29), a native of Jessore, Bangladesh, who was arrested recently in Angamaly, possessed two Aadhaar cards and an expired Bangladeshi passport. He had arrived in Angamaly three months ago and was working in construction, while others engaged in scrap collection in the Thrippunithura area.

In 2023, Bangladeshi nationals Muhammad Al Amin Sheikh and his wife Jyotsna Akhtar were arrested after trespassing into the guest house of the Kochi shipyard. Initially, they claimed to be scrap collectors from West Bengal, but their accents raised suspicion. Upon thorough interrogation by CISF officials, they admitted to being Bangladeshi nationals.

Infiltration facilitated by corruption
Human traffickers who bring Bangladeshis into India are capable of bribing even Border Security Force (BSF) officials during their patrols. In 2022, information about such activities came to light when the Crime Branch apprehended the leader of a racket involved in trafficking Bangladeshis abroad through Nedumbassery. In 2018, a Malayali BSF jawan, who was arrested by the CBI with Rs 45 lakh in cash, had received the money from the notorious smuggler Biju Sheikh. The CBI also arrested Biju in connection with the case.

Money transfer strategies
Bangladeshis in Kerala usually receive wages in cash. When asked to open bank accounts, they vanish. They often use fake Aadhaar cards, but linking these Aadhaar cards exposes the forgery. Hence, money is transferred using the ATM cards of colleagues to accounts set up in Kolkata. From there, it is sent to Bangladesh through money exchange agencies.