EX-CP HELPS BUST MUMBAI-SAUDI ARABIA HUMAN TRAFFICKING RACKET

Two agents from Dongri arrested for sending 50 women to the country in 10 months; one nurse, who was forced to work as a maid for 18 hours a day, rescued, after family approached Ahmed Javed, Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

A human trafficking racket flourishing between Mumbai and Saudi Arabia has been busted and two agents arrested, after the family of one of the victims approached former Mumbai top cop Ahmed Javed, who is now the Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

The family of a nurse, who had been recruited by the agency and sent to Rafha in Saudi Arabia, approached asocial activist Aftab Siddique saying she was trapped in the country and was forced to work for 18 hours a day as a maid in inhuman conditions. The nurse had been recruited by the Trio Track agency in Dongri in October and sent to Saudi Arabia via Dubai on a 90-day visa.

The agency had sent around 50 women, mostly from Mumbai, to Saudi Arabia illegally in the past 10 months, said a letter issued by the Indian Embassy to the POE (Protection of Emigrants) office at the Ministry of External Affairs. Most of these women were forced to work as housemaids for 18 hours a day, and often under the scorching desert sun. If they refused to work, they were physically assaulted. The Andheri-based nurse somehow managed to contact her family, who then contacted the two agents from Trio Track, named Jamil Shaikh and Feroz Shaikh.

Siddique told Mirror that the two agents tried to strike a deal with the family if they wanted the woman to come back home. “The agents told the victim’s family that they would not bring her back unless they paid Rs 2,10,000 in cash and also provided them 10 other women who they could send as housemaids instead.” That’s when the family, with the help of Siddique, approached the D N Nagar police, which registered a cheating and extortion case against the agents.

Meanwhile, the family also got in touch with Ambassador Ahmed Javed. Siddique said, “Javed sir



responded and Embassy officials helped bring back the victim. She returned home on November 4. The Embassy also revealed that the licence of the agency had been cancelled by Protector General of Emigrants (PGE).” Official communication regarding the fraud agency and their activities was sent to the director, Ministry of External Affairs, Protector of Emigrants and Mumbai police.

The D N Nagar police arrested the two agents on the charges of extortion and cheating. According to communication between Indian Embassy officials and Siddique, in most cases, the agents had not followed procedures like furnishing bank guarantee to the Indian Embassy, attestation of work contract, mandatory age limit, etc.

Senior inspector Dhanaji Nalawade from D N Nagar police station said, “Following the report from the Indian Embassy, we have sought details from the agency that sent the 50 women to Saudi Arabia in the last 10 months. Once we get that information, we will decide on the further course of action to be taken against them. The agency official named Jamil Shaikh was arrested in the extortion and cheating case filed by the nurse’s family along with another accused Feroz Shaikh”

Nalawade also revealed that Feroz, who used to be an auto driver before he met with an accident, had sent his wife to Saudi Arabia through Jamil to earn a living. But when she could not face the working conditions there, she returned home and Feroz sent another relative in her place. When she too could not cope and returned home soon, Feroz zeroed in on the nurse.

The nurse’s family is relieved that she is back home with them and are grateful to the Embassy for their help. Said the victim’s sister, “There are many other Indian women who are stuck in Saudi Arabia and are suffering at the hands of their employers. They are not allowed to contact their families or the Indian Embassy. It is shocking that the agency that sent my sister had sent another 50 women in a similar manner to Saudi Arabia.”