Twenty-eight people, including women and children, were rescued early Monday from an attempted trafficking journey to Malaysia during a joint operation by the Coast Guard and police in Teknaf’s Baharchhara area.

Coast Guard Media Officer Lt Commander Siam-ul-Hoque said on Tuesday that the operation was launched after intelligence reports indicated that a large group, comprising men, women and children, had gathered on the beach near Kacchapia Ghat in Baharchhara, preparing to embark on a perilous sea journey.

Acting on the tip-off, a team from the Coast Guard’s Baharchhara Outpost and local police carried out the joint drive around 1am on Monday.

The team found 28 people waiting on the beach to be ferried offshore. During initial questioning, officials learned that several organised trafficking groups had targeted both Bangladeshi and Rohingya nationals from Teknaf and other regions, luring them with promises of better opportunities abroad, high-paying jobs and low-cost travel — all part of a larger scheme to smuggle them to Malaysia via dangerous maritime routes.

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The traffickers managed to escape after sensing the presence of law enforcement personnel, leaving the victims behind. No arrests were made during the operation.

Authorities say efforts are underway to identify those involved in the networks, while the rescued individuals have been handed over to the relevant authorities for further procedures.

Bangladesh remains among the countries with a high prevalence of modern slavery.

According to the 2023 Global Slavery Index, an estimated 1.2 million people were living in modern slavery in Bangladesh on any given day in 2021, a figure that includes internal trafficking and other forms of exploitation.