Human trafficking: 22 children among 31 rescued in Teknaf

Thirty-one people, including 22 children, were rescued from the hilly area of Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar yesterday early morning while trafficking them to Malaysia.
The victims included 26 Rohingya and five Bangladeshi nationals, said Devjit Pal, senior assistant director (Law & Media) of Rab-15.
Traffickers confined them in a hideout on top of a hill in the Kachhapia area of Teknaf, with the intention to traffic them to Malaysia, the Rab official said.
Two members of the trafficking gang were also arrested during the raid, he said.
The Rab official said that one Ekhlas Mia, his cousin and two-three friends of Mochar Khola area in Ukhiya upazila were abducted by human traffickers from Kachhapia sea beach along the Marine Drive on November 12.
“They were taken forcefully to the hideout, where they saw many other victims kept confined there. Ekhlas along with 15/20 others was taken to the nearby sea beach and boarded on a fishing trawler, to be taken to Malaysia, on November 16, as his family could not meet their demand of Tk 2 lakh as ransom. He managed to flee and reported the incident to Rab-15 in a bid to rescue his cousin, friends and others,” the Rab official said.
Following his information, Rab-15 members conducted a raid at the hideout and rescued the victims, he added.
Two traffickers – Md Anwar, 44, from Pankhali area of Hnila union of Teknaf and Mohammad Aiyub, 36, of Uttar Lambri under Teknaf sadar union – were arrested, the ASP said.
Quoting the rescued victims, the Rab official said, “The traffickers confined them at the hideout and said that they would take them to Malaysia. The traffickers also took Tk 1 lakh from many victims, threatening them that if they don’t pay the money, they would be sent to Myanmar”.