'Cut-throat' visas in this era, too

The nature of forgery has changed in the digital age. Traffickers are thumbing their noses at strict security and biometric technology. A horrific syndicate has emerged. Ordinary people are being ruined by falling into their traps. On the other hand, criminals are going abroad using other people's visas. Tamanna Begum from Bhedarganj, Shariatpur, is a victim of such fraud.

Using the Italian visa on the passports of Tamanna and her 14-year-old son Jamal Ahmed (names changed), a human trafficking syndicate arranged to send Priyanka Sarkar (32) and Ashraful Kazi (15) to Italy. A contract for Tk 36 lakh was made with the syndicate for Priyanka and Ashraful. But as fate would have it, they were caught at the immigration channel on January 31 this year. Immigration police at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport arrested them and filed a case. Based on the information on the confiscated passports, the police found the actual owners, Tamanna and Jamal. Then, shocking information emerged one by one. It was found that using the passports of Tamanna Begum and her two children, three more people have already gone to Italy! The matter seems to be a new version of the famous 'cut-throat' visa fraud of the 1990s!

Yet, in the age of digital information, many consider such fraud almost impossible. They say there is no scope to match the name-address, photo, or biometrics (fingerprints) of a passport with someone else's. Yet, others are traveling abroad using those very passports with visas.

Investigation reveals that modern technology, international communication, and weaknesses in the immigration systems of multiple countries are involved in passport forgery for human trafficking. In this horrific forgery, not only Bangladesh but an international human trafficking syndicate based abroad, including Italy, is active. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested seven people, including the syndicate's ringleader, Belayet Jamaddar. At the same time, five members of Bangladesh's immigration police have been placed under surveillance. Italian immigration authorities are also working to identify syndicate members. Meanwhile, officials from the Italian Embassy in Dhaka have held several meetings with CID officials.

Passport belongs to Tamanna, but others went to Italy: On July 26, Tamanna and her two children, Lili and Jamal, booked tickets on Qatar Airways and left for Italy. But upon reaching the airport immigration, they found out that between January 6 and 31, three people had already gone to Italy using their passports. Later, at the Special Branch headquarters, they saw the photos of the individuals who traveled to Italy on their passports.

Tamanna Begum said she met a woman at the 'VFS' center in Gulshan-2 on July 13, 2024. That woman connected her with Belayet Jamaddar. On August 5, 2025, she was given Belayet's mobile number. A week later, she agreed with Belayet to get an Italian visa quickly for Tk 5.5 lakh. On the morning of January 6 this year, passports with Italian visas were handed over from VFS. But Belayet's associates forcibly took their three passports. When she went to his office with Tk 5.5 lakh, Belayet informed her that two passports had been lost. However, on the evening of January 31, she received a phone call from the police informing her that Priyanka and Ashraful had been arrested at the airport using their passports while attempting to go abroad. Her daughter's passport was also recovered from Belayet's office.

Someone else went to Italy using Nasima's passport too: Nasima Akhtar (name changed) and her four children also fell into the clutches of the same syndicate. When she went to airport immigration to go to Italy, she found out that someone had already gone to Italy using her passport.
Nasima said her husband has been living in Italy for 11 years. She had been trying to go to her husband with her four children for five years. But she could not get a visa in any way. On December 15, 2024, she submitted the necessary documents to the Italian Embassy in Dhaka. Even after 14 months, she did not receive a visa. In the meantime, her passport expired. When the embassy called to inform her, she went to collect the expired passport. At that time, a man named Nazmul told her he could renew the passport within 24 hours. She collected the passport from the embassy and gave it to Nazmul for renewal. Nazmul then told her that it was also possible to arrange a visa to go to Italy.

Later, on April 2, she was introduced to Belayet through Nazmul. A verbal agreement was made with him for Tk 4.5 lakh to arrange the visa. It was agreed that payment would be made upon getting the visa. On April 16, when she came out after collecting her passport from the Italian Embassy, Nazmul and several unidentified others demanded the money as per the agreement. Since she did not have the money, they snatched the passport. Forced, she deposited Tk 4.4 lakh into their bank account. After paying the money, she got her passport back. However, when she went to the airport on July 9 to go to Italy, she was stopped. Immigration informed her that someone had gone to Italy on her passport on April 24. Regarding this, she filed a case at Gulshan Police Station in the capital on July 21.

Who is this Belayet? While investigating Tamanna's complaint, on July 21, the CID arrested Belayet Hossain, Nazmul, and five other members of the syndicate. The other arrestees are Mehedi Hasan, Md. Solaiman Sumon, Fazle Rabbi, Md. Touhidur Rahman, and Kawsar Hossain. At that time, they seized 56 passports, 153 seals of various types, one embossing seal, three CPUs, one laptop, and Tk 2.5 lakh in cash. However, just four days after his arrest, Belayet secured bail.

Belayet Hossain's real name is Belayet Jamaddar. His ancestral home is in Lakshmipur. He went to Italy on an agricultural visa in 2008. He lived in the city of Sicily, Italy. However, in 2013, authorities expelled him from Italy on charges of forging 100 visas. The government also fined the owner of the related company, an Italian citizen, a large amount. Later, assuming the name Belayet Hossain with a new passport, he again went to Italy on a tourist visa in 2023. However, Belayet had been involved in the human trafficking business since 2016, under the guise of Italian file processing. He established 'Jamaddar Tours and Travels'.

The big question regarding immigration: From the passports and seals seized from Belayet's office, it is believed that the syndicate has long been involved in organized visa forgery and human trafficking. But the biggest question revolves around the immigration system. How does another person's photo, name-identity, and biometrics on someone else's passport pass through multiple stages of the system? How does someone leaving Bangladesh on another's passport manage to pass through immigration at the Italian airport?

According to investigators, to find the answer to this question, it is not enough to simply interrogate brokers or travel agency employees; it is also necessary to find out who internationally is supporting this syndicate.

Mostafizur Rahman, Additional Special Superintendent of Police of the CID, told Agamir Somoy, "The activities of this international forgery syndicate seem to defy imagination. We believe that not only in Bangladesh, but people in Italy, even members of the immigration department, are involved. The Italian government is also working on this matter. They are asking us for information, and we have provided it."

Former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Nur Mohammad believes that such forgery tarnishes the country's image. He told Agamir Somoy, "This will cause expatriate Bangladeshis abroad to be humiliated. The government should identify this weakness. Because without the assistance of the immigration department, no one can leave the country on another's visa. Those involved must be brought under exemplary punishment quickly. If more such syndicates are active, they should also be tracked down."