The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) has arrested two members of a versatile fraud syndicate that allegedly duped people by posing as occult practitioners, traditional healers, and even the mythical 'King of Jinns'. The suspects were apprehended on Monday from areas surrounding the Kunjherhat Bazar in Borhanuddin upazila of Bhola district.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Suman Howlader (26), a resident of Phulkachia village, and Md. Rajib Mia (28), from the Mulpaitatan village of the same upazila. According to the PBI, it took eight months of relentless effort to track down and arrest the duo.
Details of the operation were disclosed during a press briefing held at the Faridpur PBI office on Wednesday noon by Superintendent of Police (SP) Md. Rabiul Islam. He stated that the syndicate was identified following a case filed at Rajbari Sadar Police Station on October 21, 2024. The case was lodged by Rashidul Islam, a rice trader from the Binodpur area of Rajbari Sadar.
SP Rabiul Islam revealed that trader Rashidul Islam fell into the syndicate's trap on March 25, 2024. The fraudsters cloned the mobile phone number of a familiar merchant named Bijoy Babu. Posing as Bijoy Babu, a syndicate member called Rashidul and claimed to urgently need cash, offering to sell 33 tons of rice at a heavily discounted price. Rashidul was assured that the shipment would be delivered by 4:00 PM that afternoon.
Trusting the offer due to prior business dealings with the real Bijoy Babu, Rashidul transferred a total of 375,000 BDT in multiple installments through bKash and Nagad to eight different numbers provided by the fraudsters between noon and afternoon. However, when the delivery truck failed to arrive by the stipulated time, Rashidul contacted Bijoy Babu's office directly, at which point he realized he had been scammed and that no such transaction had ever been discussed.
