Episode: KPN 31-10-2026

Human trafficking resurges along Teknaf coast as abductions feed dangerous sea routes

Human trafficking networks are reportedly becoming increasingly active along Bangladesh’s Teknaf coast as calmer seas reopen dangerous maritime routes toward Malaysia, with victims and families describing a pattern of abduction, captivity, ransom demands and forced trafficking by sea.

More than 150 people, including Rohingya refugees, were rescued by law enforcement agencies over the past week, while at least 15 suspected brokers were arrested, according to information provided for this report.

Among those rescued was Enamul Haque Kayes, a physically disabled man from Teknaf who disappeared around 10 days earlier while working at a Bonoful shop in Hnila.

After searching unsuccessfully for him, his family learned that Kayes was among 76 people rescued by the Bangladesh Navy off Saint Martin’s Island.

His family alleges he had been abducted and sold to traffickers who intended to send him to Malaysia by sea.
Family says sole breadwinner disappeared before Navy rescue
Kayes was the only income earner in his household, according to his father, Ahmudul Rahman.

“My son has a disability, but he was the only person supporting our family financially,” Rahman said. “We searched everywhere but could not find him. Later, I learnt that he was among those rescued by the Navy.”

The family’s allegation that Kayes was abducted and sold into a trafficking network has not been independently established through court proceedings.

His case, however, reflects accounts from other victims describing how people are allegedly being kidnapped or confined before being transferred through networks of brokers for maritime journeys toward Malaysia.

Student says he was abducted and sold between brokers Ayat Ullah, a ninth-grade student at Teknaf Government Technical School and College, was also among those rescued.

Ayat said his abductors took him to a hill near the Mochoni Rohingya camp, where he was held with other captives.

According to Ayat, his captors initially sold him to a broker for Tk30,000, before that broker transferred him to another person for Tk1 lakh.

After nearly a month in captivity, he said, the group was taken to Kachhapia in Baharchhara and placed aboard a trawler off Marine Drive.

“After three days at sea, the boat broke down and water began entering it,” Ayat said. “We thought we might never make it back alive. Later, the Navy rescued us.”

His account illustrates what victims describe as a trafficking chain in which people may be moved between captors and brokers before being put aboard boats.

Ransom demands linked to abductions

Other residents have reported abductions involving substantial ransom demands.

In one case, armed men reportedly abducted Mostak Ahmed from Hnila union at gunpoint and demanded Tk10 lakh from his family.

He was released three days later after relatives paid Tk5 lakh following negotiations, according to the account provided.

Mohammad Saber, 32, from Kochubania in Sabrang union, said his abductors detained and tortured him for three days in an attempt to force his family to pay ransom.

Saber said he was subsequently trafficked to Malaysia through Myanmar and Thailand.

He returned to Bangladesh on October 9, 2024, after nearly four years abroad. According to Saber, injuries sustained during his captivity caused lasting damage to his head and eyes and have affected his ability to work.

Trafficking hideouts targeted in security operations

Law enforcement agencies have conducted a series of recent operations in areas identified as suspected trafficking locations.

Police rescued 16 people, including Rohingya refugees, from Kachhapia, according to information provided for this report.

Border Guard Bangladesh and police also dismantled 20 suspected trafficking hideouts in the hills of Rajarchhara, rescuing another 16 people reportedly abducted for trafficking and arresting a suspected broker.

The SRB separately rescued five people from Kachhapia.

A M Faruk, assistant director for law and media at SRB-15, said operations were continuing to identify and arrest people involved in trafficking.

He also called for greater public awareness and cooperation to counter trafficking networks.

More than 3,500 Malaysia-bound people rescued over decade

Between 2016 and 2025, authorities rescued 3,534 people travelling toward Malaysia off the Cox’s Bazar coast, according to figures provided in the source material.

Most were Rohingya refugees.

A total of 120 cases were filed with Ukhiya and Teknaf police stations in connection with those incidents.

Meanwhile, 330 people were reportedly abducted in Teknaf during the past three years.

Local residents allege that some captives whose families cannot pay ransom are transferred or sold to trafficking networks.

The precise scale of that alleged practice has not been independently established.

Rohingya face deadly risks on maritime routes

The dangers continue after victims are taken to sea.

According to a joint statement cited in the source material from the UN refugee agency and the International Organization for Migration, more than 500 people were feared dead after two boats carrying Rohingya refugees sank off Myanmar’s Rakhine State in June.

The agencies also reportedly said around 300 Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshis had died or gone missing this year while attempting dangerous maritime journeys.

The figures underscore the extreme risks faced by people travelling on irregular sea routes across the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.

Pregnant wife waits for news of missing husband

Belal Mia, a farmer from Teknaf Sadar, was among those reported missing after a trawler sank in the Andaman Sea.

His pregnant wife, Ayesha Begum, said brokers had forcibly placed her husband aboard a boat.

She said she had received no information about him for nearly three months.

Her account illustrates the consequences for families left behind when people disappear along trafficking and irregular migration routes.

More than 480 trafficking cases remain pending

Questions over accountability extend beyond rescue operations.

More than 600 human trafficking cases were filed in Cox’s Bazar between 2012 and 2026, according to figures attributed to district police and the Bangladesh National Women Lawyers’ Association.

Around 480 cases remain pending, including more than 300 in Ukhiya and Teknaf.

Biswajit Bhowmik, a lawyer with the association, said Cox’s Bazar lacks a dedicated tribunal for human trafficking and migrant smuggling cases, contributing to lengthy judicial proceedings.

The large backlog raises concerns about whether arrests and rescue operations are being matched by timely prosecution and accountability.

Traffickers increasingly using abduction, expert says

Shariful Islam Hasan, associate director of BRAC’s migration programme, said traffickers are increasingly using abduction in addition to deceptive tactics.

Those tactics can include false promises involving employment or marriage, he said.

Cox’s Bazar Additional Superintendent of Police Md Ahidur Rahman also said abduction and human trafficking are closely connected.

According to Rahman, some abducted people may be trafficked when captors fail to secure ransom payments from their families.

He said law enforcement agencies were continuing raids and intelligence operations to identify and bring those involved to justice.

The accounts from Teknaf suggest that combating trafficking increasingly requires addressing not only deceptive recruitment for irregular migration but also allegations of kidnapping, ransom-taking and the transfer of captives into trafficking networks.

For Rohingya refugees and local Bangladeshi communities living along the coast, the combination of organised trafficking networks and dangerous maritime routes continues to pose a serious protection risk.

Key Figures

• 150+ people — Rescued by law enforcement agencies over the past week, according to information provided
• 15+ suspected brokers — Reportedly arrested during recent operations
• 76 people — Rescued by the Bangladesh Navy off Saint Martin’s Island
• 20 suspected hideouts — Dismantled in the Rajarchhara hills
• 3,534 people — Rescued while travelling toward Malaysia off the Cox’s Bazar coast between 2016 and 2025
• 120 cases — Filed in Ukhiya and Teknaf over those incidents
• 330 people — Reportedly abducted in Teknaf during the past three years
• 600+ trafficking cases — Filed in Cox’s Bazar between 2012 and 2026
• Around 480 cases — Still pending
• 500+ people — Reportedly feared dead following two Rohingya boat disasters off Rakhine State in June

Tagged as: Burma-Bangladesh border, Arakan, RSO, Buthidaung, BGB, Burma, Malaysia going boat, IDP camp in Arakan, Arakan Army, Myanmar, Military navy, Kutupalong, Cox's Bazar, Rohingya boat people, Maungdaw, Military Council force, Rakhine, IIMM, Rathedaung, ARSA, Rohingya, war crimes, Rohingya Refugee, Camp schools, Akyab, ICC, Rohingya refugee camp, community schools, APBn, ICJ, RRRC, foods shortage, Balukhali, accountability, Sittwe, hungers, Bangadesh refugee camp, Bangladesh, Teknaf, ration cut, BGP, Genocide Convention.