Judicial officials revealed that human trafficking in on a surge in Cox’s Bazar with a less than 1 per cent conviction rate in the cases filed against the incidents due to lack of witness testimony and evidence.
The information was communicated to the reporters at an event held at the Cox’s Bazar District Judge’s Court conference room on late Tuesday which was chaired by Bangladesh National Women Lawyers’ Association president Advocate Seema Zahur.
Acting District and Sessions Judge Mamunur Rashid as chief guest was the chief guest of the event.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Public Security Division, 4,546 human trafficking cases were filed across the country between 2019 and January 2025, naming 19,280 accused.
Yet, convictions were secured against only 157 people—24 sentenced to life imprisonment and 133 handed shorter prison terms.
More than 3,000 accused were acquitted, with acquittals peaking in 2023 and 2024.
Officials admitted that less than one per cent of people accused in trafficking cases face conviction, largely due to lack of witness testimony and evidence.
Data from the anti-trafficking working group shows that between July and September 2024, at least 86 incidents of trafficking occurred in the district, most of which involved Rohingya victims.
As of August 2025, courts in Cox’s Bazar are dealing with 452 ongoing human trafficking cases, while three are under trial in the special tribunal.
A district-level consultation involving tribunal judges, public prosecutors, lawyers, and rights groups revealed that the situation has worsened in recent years.
In 2023, 137 human trafficking cases were recorded nationwide, with 44 per cent of the victims from Cox’s Bazar or Rohingya communities.
Notably, 66 per cent of these victims were men, suggesting that traffickers are adopting new tactics, often luring men abroad with promises of jobs before forcing them into bonded labour.
Cases that should conclude in 180 days often remain unresolved for years, with some dragging on for nearly two decades.
Judge Osman Gani of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal (Tribunal-02) cited a recent case in which an 18-year-old boy was trafficked by a family acquaintance.
The trafficker informed the boy’s family that he was being sent to Malaysia by boat and demanded Tk 3.5 lakh. The ransom was paid, but the money reached a broker in Myanmar. Soon after, the family received word that their son had been killed while being held in a Thai jungle.
Other speakers at the meeting included Tribunal-03 Judge Saifur Rahman, Joint District Judge Abul Monsur Siddiqui, District Legal Aid Officer Hamimun Tanzim, Senior Assistant Judge Belal Uddin, and Cox’s Bazar Bar Association president Advocate Syed Alam.
Data on trafficking was presented by Safayet Bin Kamal, case management coordinator of the National Women Lawyers’ Association.
The even concluded that traffickers’ patrons must be brought under trial alongside field-level perpetrators, and that the pending establishment of a specialised human trafficking tribunal in Cox’s Bazar is critical to improving justice delivery.
