Promised lucrative jobs in Russia, Bangladeshi workers were instead trafficked, tortured, and forced to fight in a war thousands of miles from home, a conflict they had no stake in and no training for.

According to the Human Trafficking Cell of the Criminal Investigation Department, Dhaka-based agency Dream Home Travel allegedly trafficked around 20 Bangladeshis to Russia during the last two years.  The victims were offered salaries between Tk 2 lakh and Tk 2.5 lakh per month to work in chocolate factories, or as cleaners and cooks.

Initially, 10 individuals were first sent to Saudi Arabia on Umrah visas. After performing Umrah, they were trafficked to Russia and sold to a man named Sultan, who then handed them over to Russian soldiers.

Then, the ten were pushed into the frontlines, forced to fight Russia's war on Ukraine with little to no training. Those who refused faced brutal physical and psychological torture, including food deprivation, CID officials said.

At least three Bangladeshis have already been killed, they added.

According to the Human Trafficking Cell of the Criminal Investigation Department, Dhaka-based agency Dream Home Travel allegedly trafficked around 20 Bangladeshis to Russia during the last two years.

Humayun Kabir from Singra upazila of Natore was one of them.

Meanwhile, Aminul from Keraniganj, Dhaka, sustained critical injuries. His wife, Jhumur Akter, later filed a case with Banani Police Station.

On April 14, the family of Akram Hossain, 25, from Hosenpur village in Brahmanbaria's Ashuganj upazila, received news that Akram had been killed in a drone attack.

Akram had left for Russia nine months ago, hoping to lift his family out of poverty by working as a welder.

Akram's father Morshed Mia said, "We sent Akram to Russia by borrowing money from relatives, paying Tk 9 lakh to middlemen."

At first, Akram worked at a Chinese company in Russia for six months as a welder. The company stopped paying him around two and a half months ago.

Two months ago, the same brokers who brought Akram and other Bangladeshis to Russia forced them to join the military as "contract fighters".

After 15 days of basic training, Akram was sent to the warfront in Ukraine.

Dream Home Travels' partner Fabia Zerin Tamanna was arrested on February 5 at Dhaka airport while trying to flee to Nepal. She is now in jail. The other partner, Abul Hossain, remains on the run. The agency's office, located in Banani, has been closed for three months.

Mostafizur Rahman, additional superintendent of CID, told The Daily Star yesterday, "The arrestee, during primary interrogation, admitted to trafficking 20 people from Bangladesh to Russia. Ten of them reached Russia, but the other ten got stuck in Saudi Arabia after news of the trafficking surfaced."

"We have learned that three Bangladeshis have already been killed. Since they entered illegally, bringing back their bodies remains a far cry," he said.

Efforts are ongoing to repatriate those stranded in Saudi Arabia, he added.

Regarding Abul Hossain, the other partner of the agency, Mostafizur said, "We have found no evidence from immigration records that he left the country. We are conducting drives to arrest him."

TRAFFICKERS GET INVITED TO GOVT WORKSHOP

Dream Home Travels was recently invited to a government workshop.

A notice issued on Sunday, signed by Mohammad Ali, senior assistant secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, invited Dream Home Travels to a workshop titled "Determining a Suitable Course of Action for Sending Bangladeshi Workers to Russia".

Other attendees were to include officials from the ministry, the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training, the Wage Earners' Welfare Board, the International Labour Organization, the International Organization for Migration, and the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies.

Contacted, Mohammad Ali said, "We are aware that Dream Home Travels has criminal cases against it, and one of its members was arrested. It was a mistake. We have already corrected it and reissued the notice. The workshop will now be held within a limited one-hour timeframe, and only ministry-related officials will join."

Asked how an agency accused of trafficking was included, Neyamat Ullah Bhuiyan, senior secretary of the ministry, said, "The workshop was organised by the training wing of the ministry. I will look into why an agency accused of trafficking was named in the ministry's workshop notice."

Meanwhile, Bangladesh has sent around 1,200 workers to Russia in recent years under a memorandum signed through the Expatriates' Welfare Ministry. These workers, sent through official government channels, are not facing any problems, confirmed sources at the CID and the ministry.