Bangladeshi national arrested and charged with abuse and child exploitation

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska has unsealed a 13-count indictment against a Bangladeshi national who has been arrested and charged with alleged abuse and exploitation of hundreds of minor victims in Alaska, abroad, and across the U.S.

According to federal court documents 24-year-old Zobaidul Amin used the app “Snapchat” to identify and coerce child victims to produce images and videos of sexually explicit and sadistic conduct.

Authorities describe this as, “one of the malicious, digitally facilitated sextortion and child pornography production schemes investigated to date by the FBI.”

Amin was originally taken into custody in Kuala Laumpur, Malaysia on September 19 as a coordinated effort between the FBI in Anchorage and the Royal Malaysian Police. He was charged with 12 counts of possession and production of child pornography by Prosecutors with the Malaysia Attorney General’s Chambers.

“There are few crimes as damaging and traumatic to a young person as sextortion,” said U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker for the District of Alaska. “It is especially evil to target impressionable children using social media apps such as Snapchat to exploit their innocence for pictures and videos. These children have been robbed of their childhood; and their lives and the lives of their families forever altered. This case highlights the immense collaboration and dedication of law enforcement partners across the country who are working tirelessly to identify the victims.”

“This child exploitation enterprise targeted hundreds of minors in the United States and abroad through popular social media platforms,” said Special Agent in Charge Antony Jung of the FBI Anchorage Field Office.

Jung added, “Children would then be coerced into producing sexually explicit material and terrorized with threats of exposure if they did not continue. The protection of our children extends beyond borders, and this case demonstrates the multi-jurisdictional approach among local, state, federal, and international law enforcement partners to maximize our efforts in the pursuit of justice.”

The FBI Anchorage Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, the Royal Malaysia Police, Alaska State Troopers and law enforcement in numerous states across the country continues to investigate the case.

The FBI is asking the public if they have any information regarding Amin to contact the FBI at 1-800-225-5324 or 1-800-CALL-FBI.

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