Meghalaya police arrest 12 Bangladeshis in trafficking bust

Ri Bhoi District Police disrupted a major human trafficking attempt on Wednesday, March 26, arresting twelve Bangladeshi nationals attempting to illegally enter India through a sophisticated smuggling network.

Law enforcement officials conducted a strategic operation at Byrnihat, intercepting a Tata Sumo vehicle carrying eleven individuals, including two children. The suspects were discovered during a meticulously planned search operation targeting a suspected trafficking route.

According to the District Police Chief, the group was travelling with forged identity documents, including fabricated Aadhaar and PAN cards. Their intended destination was Dawki, a border region known for frequent illegal crossings.

The breakthrough came after intelligence tracked the movement of a key trafficking operative, Sukur Janab Shaikh, from Mumbai to Guwahati. While the primary target initially evaded capture during train searches at Kamakhya and Guwahati junctions, subsequent investigations led to significant arrests.

Later the same day, authorities apprehended Shaikh in Nalbari District, closing a critical link in the human trafficking chain. The arrested individuals include nine adults: Kakali Sardar, Hirina Dili Mulla, Unjilla Sadar, Rabia Begum, Panna Kamal Hussain, Poppy Hasu Mollah, Sonia Shaikh, Sobha Islam, and Saja Uddin Sk.

Police have registered a case at Nongpoh police station and continue investigations into the broader trafficking network.