The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has arrested four members of an international human trafficking gang accused of luring Bangladeshi women into fake marriages with Chinese citizens and forcing them into sex work in China.
At a press conference on Wednesday (October 15), RAB officials said the gang had been active for 7–8 years, deceiving numerous women through social media recruitment scams. The victims were promised high-paying jobs in China, brought to Dhaka, and then made to participate in staged wedding ceremonies with Chinese nationals.
According to RAB, these “marriages” were arranged in restaurants in Uttara, with fake marriage certificates and spouse visas issued using forged documents. Once in China, the women were forced into prostitution and subjected to inhuman torture if they resisted.
A survivor told investigators that she and her cousin were lured through TikTok job offers. She managed to return to Bangladesh, but her cousin remains trapped in China.
RAB launched an investigation following her complaint and arrested four suspects in a Tuesday night raid, recovering multiple documents linked to trafficking.
Officials said the network’s leaders, Abbas and Babu, previously worked as drivers for Chinese nationals in the RMG and metro rail sectors before forming the trafficking syndicate. RAB also revealed the involvement of corrupt officials in embassies, immigration offices, and Qazi offices, who helped issue false IDs and passports.
Authorities believe 4–5 more gangs connected to Chinese nationals remain active, and raids are ongoing to arrest them.
Law enforcement has urged citizens to remain cautious about job offers and marriage proposals through social media, warning that such scams are a common gateway to trafficking.
Bangladesh Feminist Archives 