Recently, about 200 Bangladeshis were seen living in such condition in Kun Ming and Guan Zhu provinces and along the China-Laos borders.

These victims, lured by the slave traders' promises of high-salary jobs in countries like Sudan, Libya and China, had paid money ranging from Tk 1.8 lakh to Tk 2 lakh, selling land or other valuable properties.

Once in China, the cheats escaped leaving them behind in an utterly helpless situation.

The once-fortune-seekers now desperately want to return to their motherland, but the process is complex as there are no Bangladeshi consular offices in those states.

Kawsar Hossain of Gazipur paid Tk 2 lakh to two employees--Mohammad Abdur Razzak Masud and Moniruddin Monir--of Kia Trade International at Fakirerpool in Dhaka as they assured him of a highly paying job in Sudan.

Monir handed Kawsar a fake visa of Sudan and took him to China along with four others--Mikai of Pabna, and Abdul Jabbar, Ilias and Ismail of Narayanganj--on May 23 this year.

They all had to pay these agents around Tk 2 lakh, Kawsar told The Daily Star at a hotel in Kun Ming.

He said they had 30 days' visa for China, but Monir left Kun Ming for Bangladesh without any notice after 10 days of their arrival.

"We are in serious trouble as we have neither the return ticket nor any money. We have spent about two months almost starving," Kawsar said.

At one stage the Kun Ming police arrested the four Bangladeshis.

A Bangladeshi trader in Kun Ming named Selim, who has been there for the last 15 years, released them from jail on bond that they will be sent to Bangladesh in five days.

However, the "five days" were over on August 22. "Selim said he will send us back to Bangladesh if we pay Tk 10,000 each. But we do not have a penny," Kawsar said with tearful eyes.

There are many such Bangladeshis who are released from jail and overstaying in different hotels secretly fearing arrest.

Some local Bangladeshi traders collect subscription to provide meals for these unfortunate people, said a trader.

According to Selim, there are 55 Bangladeshis in a jail near the China-Laos border and 30 others in another jail in Kun Ming. There are also many such Bangladeshis in Guan Zhu province, he said.

Middlemen like Monir and Masud in connivance with their godfathers in China have been cheating people, mainly from rural areas, in the name of providing jobs, a trader in Kun Ming said.

There are two Bangladeshi godfathers in Kun Ming running the illegal manpower business, said some Bangladeshis, adding that the matter is an open secret there.

At Kia Trade International office at Fakirerpool, none of its employees agreed to comment on the matter. They did not even reveal their names but said they know Masud and Monir, who rarely visit the office.

A cheated victim from Noakhali who was present at the Kia office told The Daily Star, "I have demanded my Tk 2 lakh back as they failed to take me to Sudan and give me a job, but they are just killing time."