A joint operation by the Bangladesh Coast Guard and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) rescued 32 people, including women and children, who were being held for trafficking to Malaysia. The rescue took place in Baharchhara, Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar, following a raid conducted around midnight on Saturday. Coast Guard media officer Lieutenant Commander Sabbir Alam Sujon confirmed the operation on Sunday afternoon.

According to the Coast Guard, the victims had been confined in a papaya garden near an LGED road in Noakhali Jumma Para area by a trafficker named Md. Abdul Ali. Acting on a tip-off, the joint forces launched the raid, but the traffickers fled before the team arrived. Authorities said several organized trafficking groups were luring Bangladeshi and Rohingya citizens with promises of high-paying jobs and low-cost travel to Malaysia.

The Coast Guard stated that legal action is being taken regarding the incident and that similar anti-trafficking operations will continue in the future.