Tripura police busts human trafficking racket; B’desh national held in Bangalore

Agartala, Feb 18: In a major crackdown on human trafficking, a joint team of Tripura Police’s Crime Branch and Government Railway Police (GRP) has dismantled an organised network operating across Tripura and other Northeastern states.

As part of the operation, police arrested a Bangladesh national, Niloy Ahmed Joy, from Bangalore.

Joy, a resident of Dhaka, had been residing in Bangalore and was reportedly playing a key role in cross-border human trafficking through Tripura.

On Tuesday, he was brought to Agartala on transit remand after police secured permission from a Bangalore court.

Providing details of the operation, Agartala GRP Station Officer-in-Charge Tapas Das revealed that the bust followed the arrest of three Bangladeshi women on January 19.

“Based on our investigation and the information provided by the arrested individuals, we learned that Niloy Ahmed Joy was instrumental in this trafficking network,” Das told The Assam Tribune.

A police team tracked Joy using mobile location technology and apprehended him in Bangalore before transferring him to Agartala.

Authorities also informed that they have seized incriminating documents from his mobile phone, which are now being examined to identify his accomplices.

"We have evidence linking him to border touts operating in both India and Bangladesh. He has been produced in court, and we have sought five days of police remand for further investigation," Das added.

Human trafficking has been a persistent issue in Tripura.

Earlier, on January 25, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) reported the arrest of 25 individuals for their involvement in human trafficking between January 2022 and November 2023.

However, no arrests were reported in 2022 or 2024, as per a Home Department report tabled in the recent Assembly session.