ED Hyderabad attaches Rs 1.9L assets in Bangladeshi trafficking case
Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Hyderabad Zonal Office has provisionally attached assets worth approximately Rs 1.90 lakh under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with two cases of immoral trafficking rackets operated by Bangladeshi nationals in and around Hyderabad.
The investigation was initiated based on two FIRs filed by the Telangana Police and later re-registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Hyderabad. The Telangana Police had conducted raids at two brothels on the outskirts of Hyderabad, dismantling an organized prostitution and trafficking syndicate run by Bangladeshi nationals. The FIRs were registered at PS Chatrinaka and PS Pahadishareef.
The NIA’s investigation revealed that most of the arrested individuals were Bangladeshi nationals who had entered India illegally and obtained fake Indian identity documents. Despite previous arrests, they continued to engage in prostitution and the trafficking of Bangladeshi girls. The victims were trafficked into India under the pretext of better-paying jobs in beauty parlours, tailor shops, steel factories, and as housemaids, only to be forced into the flesh trade.
Following the investigation, the NIA Special Court awarded life imprisonment to six accused individuals in one of the cases.
ED’s investigation revealed that the traffickers were operating brothels in and around Hyderabad and sending the victimized girls to other brothels and agents for commission. Using fake identity documents, the accused opened multiple bank accounts and online wallets to facilitate their illegal activities. The traffickers paid agents on the Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal around Rs. 4-5 thousand per person for each trafficking operation, with the money split between various parties on both sides of the border.
Payments related to the trafficking were made through bank channels and cash transactions, with money transfers concealed by structuring payments below regulatory thresholds. The proceeds of crime were transferred to multiple individuals near the Bangladesh border in West Bengal, where the money was withdrawn in cash and sent through hawala agents or remitted via bKash, a mobile financial service in Bangladesh.
The ED has attached assets, including balances in Paytm wallets and bank accounts, as well as immovable property belonging to Ruhul Amin Dhali, one of the key agents involved in the trafficking operation. The investigation is ongoing.
