The Bangladesh Coast Guard in an operation on Friday rescued 44 people, including women and children, held captive in a remote hilly area of Teknaf for the purpose of trafficking.
The operation was carried out between 2:00am and 7:00am in a hilly area at Baharchhara union of Teknaf upzila in Cox鈥檚 Bazar, said Lieutenant Commander Siam ul Haque, media officer at the Bangladesh Coast Guard headquarters in the capital Dhaka.
鈥榃e learned that a large number of people, including women and children, were being held captive in the hilly area with the aim of trafficking them to Malaysia by sea,鈥� he said.
According to the Bangladesh Coast Guard, trafficking syndicates had promised Bangladeshi nationals and Myanmar nationals of the Rohingya community from Teknaf and other places across the country that they would get high-paying jobs abroad.
The victims alleged that the traffickers held them captive and tried to聽 extort ransom through torture.
鈥楧uring the operation, it was not possible to arrest anyone as the traffickers fled upon sensing the presence of the Coast Guard members. Intelligence surveillance and operations by the Coast Guard are going on to arrest the traffickers,鈥� Siam ul Haque said.
