by Rohingya Khobor
Cox’s Bazar — October 18, 2026. People abducted in Teknaf are allegedly being sold to traffickers and forced onto boats bound for Malaysia, according to a report published by Bangla Tribune on October 18.
Drawing on interviews with survivors, relatives and police, the report described links between abduction, confinement, ransom demands and sea trafficking.
One rescued school student told the newspaper that he had been abducted, held in the hills and sold between intermediaries before being placed on a boat. He said the vessel later broke down at sea and its passengers were rescued.
The newspaper reported that more than 150 people, including Rohingya, had been rescued in several operations along the Teknaf coast over the preceding week.
A senior Cox’s Bazar police officer told Bangla Tribune that some abducted people were subjected to trafficking after captors failed to obtain ransom.
The report concerns several recent incidents, rather than a single rescue on October 18. Rohingya Khobor has not independently verified the individual accounts or the combined rescue figure.
