Teknaf, Sep 19 (V7N) – A joint operation by the Bangladesh Navy and Coast Guard rescued 66 people, including women and children, from a human traffickers’ hideout deep in the hills of Teknaf’s Baharchhara-Kachhapia area of Cox’s Bazar.
Among those rescued were 23 women, 22 men, and 21 children. Authorities confirmed that the group included both Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingya refugees.
According to the Coast Guard East Zone, the operation was launched on Thursday evening following intelligence reports that traffickers had lured people with false promises of lucrative jobs and better opportunities in Malaysia. Victims were held captive in remote hilltop shelters after being taken from local communities and Rohingya camps.
Lieutenant Commander Siam-ul-Hoque, media officer of Coast Guard Headquarters, said the raid was conducted from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. based on reports that the captives were being prepared for transport to Malaysia via trawlers along the Bay of Bengal. “Our forces rescued 66 people, including women and children, from a hidden camp in the hills. However, the traffickers managed to escape during the operation,” he said on Friday morning.
Interviews with the victims revealed that organized trafficking rings promised high-paying jobs abroad, easy migration at minimal cost, or the option of paying expenses later through overseas work. The traffickers also confined them with the intent to extort ransom and later transport them by boat from the Marine Drive coast to Malaysia.
Authorities confirmed that intelligence surveillance and further joint operations by the Navy and Coast Guard are ongoing to apprehend those involved in the trafficking network.

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