Teknaf, Oct 29 (V7N) — The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB-15) rescued 24 Rohingyas, including 4 men, 10 women, and 10 children, from a remote hilly area in North Shilkhali, Baharchhara Union, Teknaf upazila. Authorities confirmed that all the rescued individuals were residents of Rohingya camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf.

The operation, carried out on Tuesday night, October 29, was based on secret intelligence. Two RAB teams, CPC-2 from Whykong Camp and CPC-1 from Teknaf Camp, conducted the joint raid under the supervision and overall direction of their commanding officer.

During the three-hour operation, RAB members were able to free the Rohingyas who had been forcibly held by traffickers under the pretext of being sent to Malaysia. The traffickers, sensing the raid, fled deeper into the hills.

The rescued individuals reported that 3–4 days prior, a trafficking ring had lured them from various camps in Ukhiya to the hills of North Shilkhali. They were then forcibly confined in the house of a woman named Roksana, where they were threatened and kept against their will.

Interrogation and investigation have allowed RAB to identify five members of the trafficking ring. Legal action is underway against the traffickers, with 6–7 unidentified accomplices listed as additional suspects. A case is being filed at Teknaf Model Police Station.

Assistant Director (Law & Media) of RAB-15, Assistant Superintendent of Police A.M. Faruk, stated that operations against human traffickers will continue. He emphasized that those involved in deceiving and trafficking innocent people will face no leniency.

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