Joynal Abedin Khan :
The unscrupulous syndicates are trafficking unemployed people to Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Italy by alluring of lucrative jobs.
The allurement of handsome salary and facilities of permanent living in the foreign countries encourage them to take risky journey, Shaymol Kumar Nath, Superintendent of Police in Cox’s Bazar district told it to the reporters on Monday.
Border Guard of Bangladesh (BGB), Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Ukhia police arrested over 5,000 people in last eight months when they were going to Malaysia and Thailand illegally, the SP said.
“Traffickers approach the financially weak families and give them false promises of lucrative jobs and marriage of young girls overseas. But unfortunately they mostly fall in traps laid by the traffickers and slave traders in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. The girls are often violated physically and forced to work as maids or locked into brothels,” Police Headquarters sources said.
Recently unprecedented rise in illegal human trafficking to Southeast Asian countries by motivated over 1000 Bangladeshi nationals has stirred the whole world, they said.
People are being trafficked to Malaysia and Thailand through 60 coastal points in Cox’s Bazar, Kutubdia, Katabunia, Hariakhali, Badamtoli, Choangkhali, Jhaubagan, Inani, Mankhali, Rejubreez, Khonarpara and Septkhali, intelligengence sources said.
At least 650 local and over 51 foreign human smugglers are engaged in human trafficking, they said. More than 1.2 lakh job-seekers had been smuggled out of the country through sea routes in last one year, said a high official of Ministry of Civil Aviation.
On an average, 10 thousand people had been trafficked to Malaysia and Thailand from Cox’s Bazar every month, he said, adding that a number of human traffickers got involved in money laundering or ‘hundi’ business.
According to the law enforcement agencies, each person needs from Tk three lakh to Tk four lakh to go to Malaysia legally, but human traffickers take only Tk 50,000 to Tk 60,000 from each person.
Meanwhile, as many as 738 Bangladeshis were rescued recently from Malaysian water and they would be brought back home within next month, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali told the Parliament on Tuesday. Replying to lawmakers’ queries, he said human trafficking through the Indian Ocean had risen alarmingly in recent months.
In the same session, State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told the Parliament that human trafficking through the coastal areas of Teknaf and Saint Martin’s island were first spotted by Bangladesh Coast Guard in 2011.
“Bangladesh Coast Guard has so far detained 1,736 nationals from the sea since 2011 when they were attempting to migrate abroad illegally,” he informed parliament.
The law enforcers have already started taking action against those who are involved in the human trafficking, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said.
The expatriates’ welfare ministry, home ministry, Bangladesh missions and the coast guards have intensified their vigil on the sea territory of Bangladesh following the rise of trafficking incidents, he added.
An official in the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism said that lack of coordination and integrated action by the law enforcement agencies and concerned ministries were responsible for the rise in illegal migration and human trafficking.
In human trafficking, not only influential political leaders, some unscrupulous members of the Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) are also involved, officials and NGOs are dealing with the trafficking issue, he said.
At least 31 human traffickers and active members of an organised trafficking gang were arrested in last two months, said Ataur Rahman Khandakar, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Teknaf Police Station.
So far more than 61 cases have been filed under the Human Trafficking Deterrence and Suppression Act, 2012, but there is no visible progress of those cases, rights activists have said.
Dr Zia Rahman, Chairman of Criminology Department at Dhaka University, said a large number of unemployed youths want to go abroad in a bid to make them financially solvent. Many people take help from human traffickers because of complexities in visa processing, he said, adding that everyone wants a good job abroad.
The unscrupulous syndicates are trafficking unemployed people to Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Italy by alluring of lucrative jobs.
The allurement of handsome salary and facilities of permanent living in the foreign countries encourage them to take risky journey, Shaymol Kumar Nath, Superintendent of Police in Cox’s Bazar district told it to the reporters on Monday.
Border Guard of Bangladesh (BGB), Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Ukhia police arrested over 5,000 people in last eight months when they were going to Malaysia and Thailand illegally, the SP said.
“Traffickers approach the financially weak families and give them false promises of lucrative jobs and marriage of young girls overseas. But unfortunately they mostly fall in traps laid by the traffickers and slave traders in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. The girls are often violated physically and forced to work as maids or locked into brothels,” Police Headquarters sources said.
Recently unprecedented rise in illegal human trafficking to Southeast Asian countries by motivated over 1000 Bangladeshi nationals has stirred the whole world, they said.
People are being trafficked to Malaysia and Thailand through 60 coastal points in Cox’s Bazar, Kutubdia, Katabunia, Hariakhali, Badamtoli, Choangkhali, Jhaubagan, Inani, Mankhali, Rejubreez, Khonarpara and Septkhali, intelligengence sources said.
At least 650 local and over 51 foreign human smugglers are engaged in human trafficking, they said. More than 1.2 lakh job-seekers had been smuggled out of the country through sea routes in last one year, said a high official of Ministry of Civil Aviation.
On an average, 10 thousand people had been trafficked to Malaysia and Thailand from Cox’s Bazar every month, he said, adding that a number of human traffickers got involved in money laundering or ‘hundi’ business.
According to the law enforcement agencies, each person needs from Tk three lakh to Tk four lakh to go to Malaysia legally, but human traffickers take only Tk 50,000 to Tk 60,000 from each person.
Meanwhile, as many as 738 Bangladeshis were rescued recently from Malaysian water and they would be brought back home within next month, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali told the Parliament on Tuesday. Replying to lawmakers’ queries, he said human trafficking through the Indian Ocean had risen alarmingly in recent months.
In the same session, State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told the Parliament that human trafficking through the coastal areas of Teknaf and Saint Martin’s island were first spotted by Bangladesh Coast Guard in 2011.
“Bangladesh Coast Guard has so far detained 1,736 nationals from the sea since 2011 when they were attempting to migrate abroad illegally,” he informed parliament.
The law enforcers have already started taking action against those who are involved in the human trafficking, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said.
The expatriates’ welfare ministry, home ministry, Bangladesh missions and the coast guards have intensified their vigil on the sea territory of Bangladesh following the rise of trafficking incidents, he added.
An official in the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism said that lack of coordination and integrated action by the law enforcement agencies and concerned ministries were responsible for the rise in illegal migration and human trafficking.
In human trafficking, not only influential political leaders, some unscrupulous members of the Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) are also involved, officials and NGOs are dealing with the trafficking issue, he said.
At least 31 human traffickers and active members of an organised trafficking gang were arrested in last two months, said Ataur Rahman Khandakar, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Teknaf Police Station.
So far more than 61 cases have been filed under the Human Trafficking Deterrence and Suppression Act, 2012, but there is no visible progress of those cases, rights activists have said.
Dr Zia Rahman, Chairman of Criminology Department at Dhaka University, said a large number of unemployed youths want to go abroad in a bid to make them financially solvent. Many people take help from human traffickers because of complexities in visa processing, he said, adding that everyone wants a good job abroad.
