Two Bangladeshi trafficking victims rescued in Malaysia

Two Bangladeshi men allegedly trafficked to Malaysia and held captive for months have been rescued after traffickers abandoned them outside a refugee clinic in Penang following prolonged torture and ransom demands.

The victims were identified as Jony, an auto-rickshaw driver from Lohagara in Narail, and Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain from Mirsarai in Chattogram.

Jony reportedly travelled to Dhaka in February this year in search of work, where he met a broker near the airport. Promised a good-paying job abroad, he was taken to Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar and later forced onto a boat under cover of darkness.

After around 10 days at sea, Jony and other migrants reached Thailand, where they were allegedly held in a makeshift detention camp for nearly four months and subjected to severe torture. The abuse reportedly left some victims with serious injuries and infections in their hands and feet.

The traffickers allegedly recorded videos of the victims being tortured and sent them to their families to demand ransom. Jony’s father, day labourer Mohammad Furkan, was unable to meet the demands, prompting the traffickers to intensify the abuse, according to the account.

Jony was later taken illegally to Malaysia, where he was reportedly held and tortured for another two months.

Mosharraf was also trafficked through a similar route. While other detainees were released after their families paid ransom, the two men remained in captivity because their families could not afford the payments.

On the evening of August 28, the traffickers abandoned Jony and Mosharraf outside a refugee clinic in Penang. After learning of their condition, the clinic authorities contacted the Bangladesh High Commission.

Bangladesh High Commissioner Manzurul Karim Khan Chowdhury immediately instructed officials to take necessary steps. With permission from the mission, the two men were placed under the care of Bangladeshi businessman Mosharraf Hossain.

Following completion of the necessary legal procedures, the two victims are expected to return to Bangladesh in the first week of September with assistance from the Bangladesh mission.

The rescue highlights the continuing threat of human trafficking involving Bangladeshi migrants, despite Malaysia’s labour market remaining largely closed to Bangladeshi workers for nearly three years. Traffickers reportedly continue to exploit desperate job seekers, sending some through tourist visas and others by sea from Cox’s Bazar via Thailand.

International trafficking networks have long operated around the Thailand-Malaysia border, using remote forests and mountainous routes to smuggle migrants into Malaysia.

Officials and rights advocates say a lack of reliable information leaves many people in rural areas vulnerable to brokers promising jobs abroad. Some sell land or take high-interest loans to pay traffickers, only to lose contact with their relatives and face severe financial and emotional hardship.

They have called for stronger border surveillance, tougher legal action against trafficking networks and greater grassroots awareness of safe and legal migration channels to curb the trade.