In its relentless pursuit to dismantle human trafficking operations along the Indo-Bangladesh border, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) made a significant breakthrough on Friday, apprehending four more individuals involved in illegal infiltration into India through Tripura.
The arrests, part of a joint operation with Tripura police, stem from a human trafficking case registered by the NIA in Guwahati back in October. According to an NIA official the accused will be transported to Guwahati in Assam following court orders from Agartala, Tripura, to appear before the NIA Special Court in Guwahati.
This recent crackdown follows the NIA’s previous arrest on November 8, 2023, where 29 key operatives were nabbed in nationwide raids targeting human trafficking syndicates linked to the same case.
According to NIA findings, the newly apprehended individuals were operating in close proximity to the Indo-Bangladesh international border and had direct ties to the previously detained 29 individuals. These traffickers were allegedly executing their illegal activities under the command of organized syndicates active across multiple districts of Tripura, with connections extending to operatives in other parts of India.
“Investigations have further revealed that the four arrested accused were coordinating with traffickers operating from across the international border to facilitate illegal infiltration of persons of Bangladeshi origin into India. The case was registered by the NIA on 6th October 2023, following credible inputs regarding organised human trafficking syndicates operating along the Indo-Bangladesh international border. The NIA had received information about individuals of foreign origin being trafficked illegally with the intention of settling them in various parts of India”, the official said.
Further probes by the NIA uncovered extensive linkages between these trafficking syndicates and other facilitators operating across India and beyond the border. This revelation shed light on a larger interconnected network engaged in human trafficking activities via the Indo-Bangladesh border. Shockingly, the arrested individuals were also found to be arranging forged Indian identity documents for those trafficked from Bangladesh into India, as per NIA revelations.