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Published : 03 Oct 2025, 10:55 PM
The Bangladesh Navy and Coast Guard have rescued 39 people, including women and children, from the deep hills of Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar, where they had been gathered for smuggling to Malaysia.
Two suspected human smugglers were detained during the raid.
Lt Commander M Mohaieminul Haque Mahim, contingent commander of the Navy, said the operation was carried out at Kachhapia hills in the early hours of Friday.
Among those rescued were 18 Rohingya women, 11 Rohingya men, eight Rohingya children and two Bengali nationals.
The identities of the two detainees could not be confirmed immediately.
Officer Mahim said: “A criminal gang had confined a number of women and children in the hills with the intention of trafficking them to Malaysia by offering false promises and extorting ransom.
“At dawn, a commando unit from the Navy’s specialised force, supported by Coast Guard members, moved in on the site. As the traffickers attempted to flee, two were captured following a chase.”
Subsequent raids in multiple spots across the hill area led to the rescue of 39 people, most of them Rohingya, according to him.
Citing accounts from those rescued, Mahim said: “The organised traffickers lured them with false assurances, abducted them at gunpoint and kept them confined in the hills. In several cases, they demanded ransom or collected large sums by promising overseas travel.”
He added that the process of handing over the rescued people to their families was under way, while legal action against the two detainees was in progress.
The Navy also reported that between Sept 18 and Oct 2, joint forces had conducted a series of raids in the same hilly areas, rescuing 134 people.
