Police rescued 15 people, including women and men, who had allegedly been gathered for trafficking to Malaysia by sea from the Baharchhara coast in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar, on Tuesday night.
The rescued people include two Rohingyas and 13 Bangladeshi nationals, many of whom are from Chakaria in Cox’s Bazar and Narsingdi.
Acting on a tip-off, a team from the Baharchhara Police Investigation Centre raided the Kachhapia area of Baharchhara union around 8:00pm and rescued them.
According to police, a human trafficking syndicate has long been using the remote coastal areas of Baharchhara to attempt to traffic people to Malaysia by sea.
Police learned through intelligence that several men and women had been gathered in Kachhapia on Tuesday night for trafficking to Malaysia. The police team subsequently conducted the raid and rescued them.
The rescued people were being questioned to identify and detain members of the human trafficking syndicate, police said.
Inspector Mohammad Sayeed, in-charge of Baharchhara Police Investigation Centre, confirmed the rescue.
“Acting on a tip-off, we conducted a raid and rescued 15 people who had been gathered for trafficking to Malaysia by sea. Legal action will be taken against those involved,” he said.
Police said preparations were underway to hand over the rescued people to the relevant authorities for further processing.
Cox’s Bazar Life Report
Photo: Courtesy
