Taking advantage of the lenient visa facilities of United Arab Emirates (UAE) for tourists and businessmen, traffickers are luring Bangladeshi women workers into the country only to force them in unethical activities.

Such incidents came to light after a few victims escape the traffickers’ den and sought for assistance at the Bangladesh Consulate in Dubai.

On Wednesday (Feb 6) the Dubai consulate officials detained a member of the trafficking ring, responsible behind the blackmailing of women workers.

The detainee has been identified as Sarwar, who hails from Barguna.

One Narayanganj woman fell victim to the trap after she flew to Dubai on Nov 7 last year.

A local trafficking ring, made up of Bangladeshi nationals, received her at the airport and took her to a flat where she was forced to depraved activities.

She somehow managed to flee the captivity and seek help at the Bangladesh Consulate in Dubai. Bangladeshi officials there facilitated her return to the country on Nov 15.

Sarwar was held by the Bangladesh Mission officials following the incident.

Two other women, who reached Dubai on Oct 10 and Nov 14, faced similar nightmare at the hands of the traffickers.

The women, both hailing from Netrokona, also managed to escape and lodged complaints at the consulate. Both women were later sent to Bangladesh.

When asked on the matter Consul General Iqbal Hossain Khan said, “Clearance from Bangladesh Immigration Bureau is obligatory for work visa applications. However, a visit visa can be availed without the requirement of obtaining such clearances. The traffickers are taking advantage of this and getting the women to avail visas on false promises of jobs at parlours, coffee shops and residences. Once they are here, the traffickers force them into derogatory activities.”

Khan also said that they will continue to hunt down other traffickers.

Calling on everyone to remain aware and not fall into the traffickers’ traps, he said that they have made recommendations to the authorities to tighten immigration law for entering the UAE.