BD embassy officials to meet Bangladeshis rescued in Thailand

A senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that the Thai government has granted consular access to the 38 Bangladesh nationals, rescued in Thailand after being victims of human trafficking. He said the officials of Bangladesh Embassy in Bangkok will meet the 38 Bangladeshis on October 28. Their repatriation process will start once officials from Bangladesh Embassy complete its own verification that includes confirmation of their nationalities through using Bangladesh police. Screening rest of the Bangladeshis, carried out by the authorities, is still going on, said the official. The Thai government informed that a group of 118 people, claimed to be Bangladeshis, landed in a province near Phuket in Thailand’s west, and they were taken in two groups. Initially, 38 people of the 1st 53-member group claimed that they are Bangladesh nationals while 15 claimed to be Myanmar’s. Some 80 people of 81-member 2nd group also claimed that they are from Bangladesh while the rest one is from Myanmar. Earlier, the BBC and the BBC Bangla reported that some 130 Bangladesh nationals have been rescued after being abducted and shipped to Thailand to be sold as ‘slaves’. Later, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali said the incident was part of ‘human trafficking’, according to a foreign ministry release.