125 BD trafficking victims return home from Myanmar

Some 125 Bangladeshi human trafficking victims, rescued by Myanmar authorities on May 21 and May 29, were brought back home from Myanmar on Tuesday after a flag meeting along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.
The flag meeting between Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Myanmar’s Immigration and National Registry Department was held near Friendship Bridge border point around 11:30 am, Cox’s Bazar Police Additional Superintendent Tofail Ahmed told UNB.
Earlier, a team of Border Guard Bangladesh went to the bordering area in the morning to bring the Bangladeshi nationals back.
Commanding officer of Cox’s Bazar BGB battalion- 17 Lt Col M Robiul Islam led the 18-member BGB team while You Fung, director of Myanmar’s Immigration and National Registry Department, led the Myanmar team.
Among the rescued victims, 85 hail from Cox’s Bazar, seven from Madaripur, five each from Bandarban and Brahmanbaria, four each from Tangail and Meherpur, three each from Feni and Kishoreganj, two each from Bhola, Rajbari and Dhaka and one each from Gopalganj, Chandpur and Gazipur.
Of the victims, 27 were children and teenage boys, he said. All the victims were taken to the Cultural Centre of Cox’s Bazar town around 1:25 pm.
They will be sent back to their respective villages after interrogation and completion of all the necessary formalities.
Myanmar navy rescued boats carrying over 200 people and 707 people on May 21 and May 29 respectively in its water territories with its officials claiming all of them to be from Bangladesh.
Earlier, Myanmar returned a total of 501 Bangladeshi people in four phases on June 8, June 19, June 22 and August 10 after completing the necessary repatriation process.
-SS