65 Malaysia-bound victims rescued, 11 ‘traffickers’ held

The Bangladesh Navy has rescued 65 people from a wooden boat allegedly being used to transport people illegally to Malaysia by sea and detained 11 suspected human traffickers.

The rescue was carried out on Wednesday night during a routine patrol in the Saint Martin's area, according to a release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Friday morning.

BNS Khalid Bin Walid intercepted the boat after a fishing vessel, FV Crystal-1, spotted it drifting about 81 nautical miles from the Saint Martin's Lighthouse, the release said.

The fishing vessel approached the boat after noticing that its engine had failed. Its crew later informed the Navy after becoming suspicious of the people on board.

Navy personnel reached the scene and rescued all 76 people. As water was entering the wooden boat, they removed the water to prevent it from sinking and provided the people with first aid, food and other humanitarian assistance.

During preliminary interrogation, 11 of the 76 people were identified as members of a human trafficking ring and subsequently detained.

The remaining 65 were identified as victims who had been lured with promises of passage to Malaysia. Most of the victims had allegedly been abducted by the trafficking ring and held captive in remote areas of Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar before being taken by sea towards Malaysia.

The detained suspects and the seized boat are being handed over to Teknaf Police Station for further legal action, the ISPR said.�"UNB