Women and children aming 55 rescued, 5 held from Teknaf coast

Bangladesh Coast Guard has rescued 55 people, including women and children, from the Teknaf coast of Cox's Bazar.

Five human traffickers have been detained in this incident. The agency said that preparations were underway to smuggle the rescued people to Malaysia by sea.

On Friday evening, Coast Guard media officer Lieutenant Commander Siam-ul-Haq confirmed this information.

He said: "Based on intelligence information late on Thursday night, it was learned that a large number of people, including women and children, were staying in the Baharchhara sea area of ​​Teknaf with the intention of smuggling them to Malaysia. Later, a special team of the Coast Guard conducted a raid there."

During the raid, a suspicious boat was signaled to stop, but it tried to escape. Coast Guard members chased and detained the boat from the sea area adjacent to Kachhpiya in Baharchhara. Later, during a search, 55 people, including women and children, were rescued and five traffickers were arrested.

Quoting the rescued people, Siam-ul-Haq said that the organized human trafficking gang was trying to smuggle Bangladeshi and Rohingya citizens from different parts of the country, including Teknaf, to Malaysia by sea, by offering them dreams of a better life, high-paying jobs and the temptation of sending them abroad at low cost.

He also said that the rescued people are being provided with necessary assistance and the process of taking legal action against the arrested traffickers is underway.

The Coast Guard said that such operations will continue in the future to prevent human trafficking.