Bangladeshi immigration ring in Thane busted; 5 agents caught

Bangladeshi illegal immigrant in police custody

In an early morning operation on Wednesday, Crime Branch Unit 6 conducted a strategic arrest of five individuals accused of being illegal immigration agents. They were allegedly involved in facilitating the entry of Bangladeshi immigrants and sending Hawala money back to Bangladesh. This operation follows the recent arrest of Abu Shahid Abdul Hamid Alimia, 23, who was identified as part of the same module during a Saturday night operation.

The crime branch had previously arrested Alimia on December 9 from Kamothe, Navi Mumbai. He allegedly confessed to residing in India after his parents illegally immigrated. However, the investigation revealed that he had sought the help of agents to enter India.

An official from Crime Branch Unit 6 revealed that the operation in Thane was initiated based on information from confidential informants. "We conducted a strategic operation in Thane upon receiving a tip-off from our confidential informants. We apprehended 5 individuals involved in the Bangladeshi illegal immigrants' module. They were produced in court on Wednesday and we have been granted custody.

(From left) Akram Noor Nabi Sheikh, Abu Shahid Abdul Hamid Alimia, Bilal Harun Sheikh, Leema Sahajahan Haldar, Masud Harun Sheikh, Monji Khatun Rafiq Sheikh, Rafiq Abid Ali Sheikh alias Abdul Qadri Mandal, Raman Siqandar Sheikh, Suman Momin Sheikh

These agents were found with forged Aadhar cards, creating fake bank accounts to send money back to Bangladesh. We are further investigating the case to trace the source of these forged documents," he added. "These individuals acted as agents for illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, sending money to Bangladesh through illegal means and aiding illegal border crossings into India."

The five individuals arrested- Masud Harun Sheikh, 26, Bilal Harun Sheikh, 31, Rafiq Abid Ali Sheikh alias Abdul Qadri Mandal, 51, Raman Siqandar Sheikh, 34, and Suman Momin Sheikh, 32 - were produced in court on Wednesday and granted police custody until December 16 for further investigations. A source from Unit 6 of the Crime Branch informed Midday, "All arrested individuals are illegal immigrants residing at Shantinagar slums, Kalwa in Thane. They are all residents of the Jessore district in Bangladesh. We laid a trap and arrested them who were posing as agents, based on the confession of Abu Shahid Abdul Hamid Alimia."

DCP Raj Tilak Roushan from detection 1 told Midday, "A total of nine individuals have now been arrested in connection with this module." He added, "These individuals not only engaged in illegal immigration but also acted as agents, transferring funds to traffickers in Bangladesh to facilitate cross-border immigration operations and sending back Hawala money to Bangladesh. Currently, we estimate the amount to be in lakhs; however, we have frozen the bank accounts. The charges have been extended to include the possession of forged documents, prompting a thorough investigation into whether the arrested individuals were involved in creating these counterfeit documents or solely acted as agents in facilitating illegal border crossings. We have established links between the apprehended individuals and Bangladesh, where illegal funds were transferred from India. Most of these illegal immigrants were in contact with people who frequently travelled to Bangladesh; they used to send money with them and survived on the commission granted for the transaction of the money." Another source said, "We currently have custody of 6 accused. Akram Noor, Leema Sahajahan, and Monji were granted judicial custody."