Teknaf, Oct 27 (V7N) — In a daring overnight operation, members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB-15) rescued 22 kidnapped victims from a remote hill area in Hatiarghona, under the Karachipara locality of Teknaf Sadar Union. The victims had been abducted for ransom and were allegedly being prepared for human trafficking to Malaysia.
 
According to a press release signed by Assistant Superintendent of Police A.M. Faruk, Law and Media Officer of RAB-15, the special operation was conducted late Sunday night (October 26) following a tip-off about the presence of traffickers in the area.
 
A RAB-15 CPC-1 (Teknaf Camp) team carried out a combing operation in the hilly terrain for nearly three hours. During the mission, they discovered 22 people held captive by traffickers — one Bangladeshi man and 21 Rohingya refugees, including 10 men, 4 women, and 7 children. The traffickers reportedly fled the scene as the elite force closed in.
 
One of the rescued victims, 17-year-old Mobarak, told investigators that he had been abducted from Cox’s Bazar’s Kalatali area on October 13 by unidentified men who took him to the Karachipara hills. He said the abductors beat him and demanded a ransom of Tk 5 lakh from his family.
 
Other victims reported similar experiences, saying they were kidnapped from various Rohingya camps and local areas, then tortured for ransom. If payments were not made, they were threatened with trafficking to Malaysia.
 
Several victims bore severe marks of torture, including cigarette burn scars and injuries where their fingernails had been forcibly removed with pliers, according to RAB’s preliminary investigation.
 
Based on victims’ testimonies, RAB has identified nine suspected members of the human trafficking ring. A case has been filed with the Teknaf Model Police Station under Sections 7, 8, and 10 of the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act, 2012.
 
RAB officials said operations are ongoing to arrest the remaining members of the syndicate. The rescued victims are being provided with protection and rehabilitation support.
 
Authorities added that several drug and human trafficking networks have recently expanded their operations along the Cox’s Bazar coast, often using remote hill areas as hideouts. RAB vowed to bring all individuals involved in these crimes to justice, reaffirming its commitment to eradicating human trafficking and ransom-related abductions in the region.
 
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