Soldier killed in Teknaf anti-trafficking raid; search for 3 bodies yields nothing

A soldier has been killed in a gunfight with suspected human traffickers in Cox's Bazar's Teknaf, while a subsequent search for three bodies reportedly seen near a trafficking hideout has yielded nothing.

More than 150 security personnel combed several kilometres of remote hills in Leda and Rangikhali on Saturday (November 7), two days after a joint forces operation rescued 56 captives from a secret detention facility.

The search began at 7:30 am under the leadership of the Bangladesh Army's 10th Infantry Division, with personnel from the army, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), SRB and police.

No bodies were recovered, although security forces found cooking utensils and other equipment at abandoned trafficking hideouts.

Mohammad Ali, acting chairman of Hnila Union Parishad, who accompanied the operation, said the search covered dense hills behind the Leda and Rangikhali Rohingya refugee camps.

"We searched several kilometres of the hills but found no bodies," he said.

The operation followed reports that three bodies had been spotted near a trafficking camp after Thursday's gunfight.

Shahidul Islam, one of the rescued captives, said he had heard that several people were killed in the exchange of fire. He also claimed to have seen three bodies near the detention facility.

He could not establish whether they were traffickers or people attempting to escape captivity.

Cox's Bazar Superintendent of Police ANM Sajedur Rahman confirmed that no bodies had been recovered.

"Joint forces are continuing operations against human trafficking networks in Teknaf. Despite searching the remote hills of Leda and Rangikhali, no bodies have been found so far," he said.

"Intelligence surveillance has been intensified."

He said the operations would continue until the trafficking networks were dismantled.

Soldier killed, 56 captives rescued

The latest search followed Thursday's operation against a trafficking hideout in the same hills.

Joint forces rescued 56 people and detained six suspected traffickers. During the raid, armed suspects exchanged gunfire with security personnel, killing Bangladesh Army soldier Mohammad Titas Sheikh, 27.

Titas was buried with state honours at his family graveyard in Laskardia village of Faridpur's Nagarkanda upazila on Friday evening.

The rescued captives, including 50 Bangladeshis and six Rohingya, were handed over to their families from Teknaf Model Police Station on Friday night.

One survivor, Asaduzzaman, said traffickers had lured him to Cox's Bazar with a promise of employment before taking him to a secret detention camp in the hills.

He remained captive for eight days and failed in two attempts to escape.

More than 50 people were held at the facility, he said, while traffickers prepared to transport them by sea.

Armed men guarded the camp, and captives were stripped of their mobile phones and personal belongings, preventing them from contacting their families.

Six suspects under interrogation

Teknaf Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Saiful Islam said six suspected traffickers were being interrogated.

Their identities would remain undisclosed while the investigation and operation continued, he said.

No case has yet been registered over Titas's killing, although police said preparations were underway.

Saiful said three human trafficking cases were filed at the police station in October, naming 17 suspects. Sixteen have since been arrested.

According to survivors and local residents, the remote hills around Teknaf have long been used by trafficking networks to detain people lured with promises of jobs or overseas travel.

Captives are held for ransom or prepared for trafficking by sea.

Saturday's unsuccessful search has raised questions about the three bodies reportedly seen near the hideout.

Some residents suspect traffickers may have removed them overnight before security forces arrived.

Police have neither confirmed the existence of the bodies nor established whether anyone removed them.

The joint operation remains underway.

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