54 rescued while being trafficked to Malaysia

This photo taken on June 16, 2012 shows fortune seekers who were rescued after a trawler, on which they were travelling to Malaysia, capsized in the Bay of Bengal.

Members of Bangladesh Coast Guard today rescued 52 Bangladeshi and two Myanmar nationals near St Martin's Island in Cox's Bazar while being trafficked to Malaysia by two Myanmar trawlers.

Twelve people – eight Myanmar crew and four Bangladeshi traffickers -- were also detained from the vessels for their attempt to traffic 54 persons to Malaysia, reports our Cox’s Bazar correspondent.

A coastguard team conducted a regular drive in the deep sea around 4:00am and seized the trawlers five miles south-east off St Martin's Island, said Lt Kazi Haurn-Or-Rashid, station commander of St Martin coastguard.

All the detainees and victims have been handed over to Teknaf Model Police Station, he said.

Cases will be filed against the Myanmar citizens and brokers while the rescued Bangladeshi citizens will be handed over to their family members after verifying information, said Didarul Ferdous, officer-in-charge (investigation) of the police station.

The traffickers brought the Bangladeshi nationals to Teknaf from different parts of the country, he said.