Police have rescued 66 individuals, including women, men, and children, from Teknaf upazila in Cox's Bazar, who were being held captive for trafficking to Malaysia.
In the meantime, five members of a human trafficking gang were arrested during the operation, which also led to the recovery of firearms used to guard the victims.
The arrested are Rashed, 25, Saleh Ahmad, 35, Nurul Kabir, 27, Syed Alam, 24, and Kamrul Islam alias Md. Shipon, 32. Several other suspects, including Kefayet Ullah, Abdul Amin, Sultan Ahmed, and Nur Mohammad, managed to flee during the raid.
Following a tip-off, the raid took place early Monday morning in the remote hilly area of Kochchopia area under Baharchhara union.
Teknaf Police Station officer-in-charge Gias Uddin stated that the operation was carried out at 3:30 AM. Among the rescued victims were 18 men, 11 women, and 37 children. Eight of the victims were identified as Rohingya refugees residing in local camps while the rest were Bangladeshi nationals.
According to police, the suspects lured the victims with false promises of a better life abroad and in some cases, with deceitful marriage proposals. Their ultimate goal was to smuggle the victims to Malaysia by sea.
OC Gias Uddin confirmed that legal actions have been initiated against the traffickers and efforts are underway to apprehend the remaining suspects. The rescued victims are currently under police protection and are being provided necessary assistance.
