Navy nabs 273 human smugglers

Chattogram Bureau :

Bangladesh Navy ship ‘Banouja Swadhinata’ patrolling the Bay of Bengal has arrested 273 people in an operation near St. Martin’s Island. They were trying to smuggle them to Malaysia illegally.

The operation was conducted on Saturday night based on secret information. The detainees had illegally set off for Malaysia.

The boat started its journey without minimum life-saving equipment, adequate food, water and security measures, which could have caused a humanitarian disaster in the deep sea.

The timely and effective action of the Navy has prevented a possible major human trafficking operation and humanitarian disaster.

According to Navy sources, the Bangladesh Navy ship ‘Banouja Swadhinata’ noticed suspicious movements of a wooden boat 30 miles southwest of St. Martin’s.

When the Navy ship signaled the boat to stop, the boat increased its speed and tried to escape.

The navy ship immediately chased the boat and seized it. At that time, 273 people, including 10 members of the broker gang, were arrested on the boat.

According to the information of the detainees, they traveled by boat to Malaysia illegally through the broker gang. The seized boat and the people have been handed over to Teknaf Police Station for further legal action.