Sixty Bangladeshis, who had sailed in a fishing boat from Cox's Bazar for Malaysia without any document three months ago, were dumped on Tuesday in the Naf by the Myanmar border security force, Nasaka.
The Bangladeshis had been imprisoned in Myanmar during the interim three months, officials concerned said.
After they were dropped by Nasaka, 35 of them were arrested by Border Guard Bangladesh and the remaining 25 fled the area to avoid arrest, 42 BG Battalion commanding officer lieutenant colonel Jahid Hasan told New Age on Wednesday evening.
'Although they were scheduled to hand over the illegal migrants to us officially soon, the Myanmar border guards just dropped them in the middle of the river Naf yesterday [Tuesday],' he said.
Teknaf police station officer-in-charge Mahbubul Haque told New Age that the arrested, aged between 17 and 52 years, were produced before a court on Wednesday on charge of trespassing.
One of them, Jasim Uddin, alleged in police custody that a group of people persuaded some 186 people, 60 of them Bangladeshi and the rest Rohingyas, from different areas of the country and on March 21 sent them in a trawler from Kustoraghat of Cox's Bazar apparently for Malaysia.
'The traffickers dumped us in a coastal area in Myanmar on April 3, claiming it was Malaysia, and then left. Myanmar security forces arrested us in the area and produced before a court,' he said. 'The court sentenced us to three months in jail.'
Jasim said Myanmar citizen Abdur Rahim, who lives in Cox's Bazar, Mohammad Hossain of Sabrong union, Ruhul Amin of Baraitali area, Nur Mohammad Majhi and Abdus Shukkar Majhi of Teknaf, Khaleda Begum of Chakoria, Kabir Ahmed of Kutupalong Refugee camp of Ukhiya, and Rasid Ahmed Majhi exacted Tk 10,000 to Tk 50,000 from each of them for sending them to Malaysia.
Source : New Age
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