17 people allegedly held in a house in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar, for trafficking to Malaysia by sea were rescued in a raid by Special Response Battalion-15 (SRB-15) on Friday evening.
The victims were rescued from a house in South Lumbari area of the upazila, said AM Faruk, assistant superintendent of police and assistant director of SRB-15, confirming the matter in press release around 11:30pm.
According to SRB-15, acting on secret information and using technology, the battalion learned that a human trafficking gang had gathered several people at the house of one Md Ibrahim in South Lumbari for sending them abroad.
AM Faruk said, An SRB-15 team conducted a raid on the house in the evening. Sensing the presence of the law enforcers, the suspected traffickers fled the scene. The team later searched the house in the presence of local witnesses and rescued 17 men.
He also said the rescued people are from different upazilas of Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban districts.
They include Md Jafar Alam, Md Nurul Huda, Md Shahin Shahriar Hridoy, Md Belal, Md Rafiqul Islam and Md Safayet Hossain, all from Lama in Bandarban. The others were identified as Md Mamunur Rashid, Md Tafsir, Md Ashraf Hossain, Md Babul, Md Ansar Uddin, Md Nurul Afsar, Md Saiful Islam, Md Zubayer and Md Nur Mostafa, from Chakaria, Pekua, Ramu, Cox’s Bazar Sadar and Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar.
AM Faruk also added a group had gathered the men at the house with the intention of making money by sending them abroad.
‘They were planning to traffic them to Malaysia by sea. Intelligence surveillance has been strengthened to identify and arrest those involved, including the absconding and unidentified members of the gang,’ he said.
Teknaf Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Saiful Islam said the police had handed over the 17 rescued people. Preparations are underway to take further legal action regarding them.
Cox’s Bazar Life Report
