Seventeen people, allegedly being held in Teknaf for trafficking to Malaysia by sea, were rescued by Special Response Battalion-15 (SRB-15) on Friday.

They were rescued during a raid on a house in the South Lambar area of Teknaf around 5:30pm, according to SRB-15. The suspected traffickers fled the scene during the operation.

Acting on a tip-off, an SRB-15 team raided the house of Md Ibrahim and rescued the 17 people.

Of them, seven are from Lama upazila of Bandarban and 10 are from different upazilas of Cox’s Bazar.

According to preliminary information, a human trafficking gang had gathered the 17 people at the house with the intention of sending them to Malaysia by sea for financial gain.

The rescued people were handed over to Teknaf Model Police Station.

An operation is underway to arrest the traffickers who fled the scene.