Lured by job offers, trapped by the ‘bait’ of free Malaysia travel

Tarek ul Islam (23) used to work as a mason. At one point, he became acquainted with two young Rohingya men. They offered him construction work on a bridge at a Rohingya camp in Teknaf and took him there. Then from Boro Deil in Baharchhara Union of Teknaf, they took him deep into the hills, where he was held captive at a hideout.

Tarek’s home is in Gondamara, Banshkhali, Chattogram. He said the men took him away on 2 November on the pretext of offering him work. He has been held captive ever since. Although he was occasionally given cooked meals, most of the time he was served bottle gourd and lentils. Another 55 to 60 people were held in the same room with him.

Meanwhile, Nur Kamal (21) from Daganbhuiyan in Feni, was lured with the promise of being sent to Malaysia free of cost. But he was told that he would have to pay after reaching Malaysia. Trusting the offer, he left home on 2 November but eventually ended up being held captive in the hills of Teknaf. There, armed men guarded the hideout, where the captives were subjected to torture.

Tarek and Nur Kamal were not the only victims. Many others had been brought from different parts of the country under false promises of employment or free travel to Malaysia. They were tortured and held for ransom. The traffickers had planned to put them on a trawler on Thursday night and smuggle them to Malaysia by sea.

However, a joint force operation at the human traffickers’ hideout on Thursday afternoon freed the captives. A total of 57 people, including Tarek, were rescued.

Sukanta Chowdhury, inspector (investigation) of Teknaf Police Station, said one of the 57 people had been identified as a human trafficker, while the remaining 56 were victims. After verifying their names and addresses, 37 of them were handed over to their families on Thursday night. The rest are being kept at Teknaf Police Station. No case had been filed in connection with the incident as of Thursday.

According to a press release from the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR), a gunfight broke out between the joint forces and the human traffickers during the operation. Bangladesh Army soldier Md Titas Sheikh (27) was shot and killed.

Five members of the human trafficking gang were arrested during the operation. A pistol, a locally made firearm and four bullets were recovered from the scene. The Army’s 10th Infantry Division, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and police took part in the operation.

Nur Kamal of Daganbhuiyan upazila in Feni told Prothom Alo at Teknaf Police Station on Friday that someone had added him to a WhatsApp group, promising to take him to Malaysia free of charge. The group members said he would have to pay after reaching Malaysia. Considering it a good opportunity, he left home.

He set out on 2 November and reached Cox’s Bazar on 3 November. A man took him from there to a makeshift hut in the hills of Teknaf and held him captive. He was then beaten and physically tortured. Between 10 and 12 armed men guarded the place at all times. Anyone who said anything against them was beaten. When the other captives saw someone being tortured, they remained silent out of fear.

SM Asaduzzaman (50) from Saltha upazila in Faridpur, said he had met a man named Yamamul at the Kutupalong Rohingya camp while visiting the area. Later, he was called there and was offered work at the camp. He was then taken away from there on 29 October. His mobile phone and all his belongings were confiscated. That night, he was taken to the hills in a CNG-run auto-rickshaw and handed over to human traffickers for Tk 10,000.

Asaduzzaman said he later negotiated with the traffickers to secure his release for Tk 200,000. They had also agreed to let him go. However, before that could happen, the joint forces launched the operation and rescued them.

Speaking about the conditions at the detention site in the hills, Asaduzzaman said more than 50 people, including him, were held there. Armed men guarded the place. He claimed that they had around 130 machetes and heavy firearms, including weapons similar to AK-47s.

Asaduzzaman said a trawler had been preparing to leave by sea two days earlier. The traffickers had tried to take him and five others to the vessel. However, they were not put on board that day because there was not enough space. He then verbally agreed to pay Tk 200,000 for his release.

Md Saiful Islam, a resident of Ukhiya, said a broker named Nur Ali handed him over to the human traffickers on the pretext of offering him a job. He later learned from the traffickers themselves that they had bought him and another person for Tk 100,000.

Saiful said he had seen four or five new people being brought to the hideout every day over the previous five days. Anyone who tried to speak was severely beaten. They had also tried to escape but were beaten. Later, they were tied up with iron chains.

According to Saiful, they were given food twice a day, usually bottle gourd and lentils.

Mohammad Ali, acting chairman of Hnila Union Parishad in Teknaf, said the activities of armed groups in the hills are increasing day by day. The movement of human traffickers had also increased during the winter season.

He said a large-scale crackdown was necessary to bring the dire situation in the hills under control.