The Bangladesh Coast Guard has rescued 153 individuals, including women and children, and arrested 15 suspected human traffickers during a midnight operation in the deep sea off Saint Martin’s Island, officials said Sunday.
The operation, conducted around 3:00 am by the Coast Guard vessel Kamruzzaman, was launched based on intelligence reports indicating that a large group of people were being held in the deep-sea area southwest of Saint Martin’s, awaiting trafficking to Malaysia.
Lieutenant Commander Sabbir Alam Sujon, Coast Guard media officer, said the team signaled a suspicious boat to stop, but the vessel attempted to flee. After a chase, the boat was intercepted in the sea area southeast of Saint Martin’s.
A subsequent search led to the rescue of 153 victims, including women and children, and the arrest of 15 suspected traffickers.
Preliminary interrogation revealed that the victims, both Bangladeshi and Rohingya nationals from Teknaf and other districts, were lured by promises of a better life abroad, high-paying jobs, and low-cost travel to Malaysia. Several organised trafficking rings were involved in the plot, officials said.
Legal proceedings against the arrested traffickers and arrangements for the rescued individuals are underway.
