DHAKA: Bangladesh Navy intercepted 13 migrant smugglers at Chittagong Port. Two travelers were also captured from small boat during the operation.
The would-be migrants told media that they consciously boarded the boat headed for Malaysia because they were assured of reaching their destination safely by posing as crew members.
Migrant smuggling, in which adult illegal migrants consent to go to another country, and human trafficking, in which people are coerced, misled, misinformed or are compelled by their guardians to be exploited abroad, both occur between Bangladesh and its wealthier South-East Asian neighbours, sources said.
“We gathered in a hotel in Chittagong city’s Pathantuli area a week ago according to the instructions of the smugglers. Two of them, Mamun and Badal, took our belongings,” said Belal, one of the migrants.
“We were told not to come out of the room and were given a lungi and a shirt each to wear. We were provided with three meals a day,” he said.
Belal said he had heard that the smuggling racket had sent some 36 people to Malaysia already.
The Bangladesh Navy’s Anti-Smuggling Cell Officer-in-Charge Commander Atiqur Rahman said the small engine boat was intercepted around 3:30am because its movements raised suspicions.
The would-be migrants and their smugglers were handed over to Patenga police station and a case was lodged in this regard, he said.
The migrant smugglers – Mohammad Shahin, 26, and Rafiq Nur, 46, – are both from Anwara upazila of Chittagong district, police said.
The intercepted illegal migrants are Bahauddin, 34, Belal Hossain, 34, and Johir Imam, 25, from Feni district; Ataur Rahman, 28, Mamunur Rashid, 18, Rabiul Islam, 18, and Ansar Ali, 35, from Bogra district; Faruk Khan, 26, and Mithu Sardar, 22, from Rajbari district; Abdul Haq Mia, 23, from Narsingdi district; and Durud Alam, 24, Sabuj Mia, 23, and Lipon Mia, 19, from Sunamgonj district, police said.
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