Bangladesh Coast Guard and Bangladesh Navy, in a joint operation, rescued 66 people, including women and children, who had been held captive for trafficking purposes in the remote hills of Baharchhara in Teknaf.
Coast Guard Media Officer Lieutenant Commander Siam-ul-Haq confirmed the matter on Friday morning.
He said intelligence sources revealed that a large number of people, including women and children, had been confined in the hills of Baharchhara in Teknaf with the intention of being trafficked to Malaysia by sea. Acting on the information, the Coast Guard and Navy conducted a joint operation on Thursday from 6pm to 10pm.
During the operation, the joint forces raided a secret hideout of traffickers at the hilltop and rescued 66 people, including women and children, who had been held captive for trafficking.
Upon primary interrogation, the rescued victims said that several organized trafficking gangs lured Bangladeshi and Rohingya citizens from Teknaf and other parts of the country with false promises of high-paying jobs abroad, better employment opportunities, improved living standards, low-cost travel, and even free migration with the option to repay later through work. They were then confined at the secret hideout in the Teknaf hills.
The traffickers had planned to smuggle them to Malaysia by boat through the coastal areas near Marine Drive when the time was favourable, the victims added.
They also said the traffickers attempted to extort ransom by torturing them during captivity.
However, sensing the presence of the joint forces during the operation, the traffickers fled the scene, making it impossible to detain anyone. The Navy and Coast Guard have continued surveillance and operations to capture the culprits.
The Coast Guard officer further said that such drives will continue in the future to prevent human trafficking.
