10 suspected pirates, 8 smugglers held in Coast Guard raids off Cox’s Bazar

The Bangladesh Coast Guard has detained 10 suspected members of the pirate group ‘Parvez Bahini’ and eight suspected smugglers in three separate operations off the Cox’s Bazar coast.

Additionally, three fishermen allegedly held hostage by pirates and nine Bangladeshi nationals floating in the deep sea were rescued.

Lieutenant Commander Arafat Hossain confirmed the information during a press briefing held at the Coast Guard’s Cox’s Bazar station this afternoon (11 April).

According to officials, a team from the Cox’s Bazar Coast Guard station conducted a raid near Kalatali Beach at 9pm yesterday (10 April), where a suspicious fishing boat was chased and detained.

Upon searching the vessel, officials seized two locally made firearms, two rounds of live ammunition, and several sharp weapons. Ten suspected members of the ‘Parvez Bahini’ were detained, and three fishermen allegedly held hostage on the boat were rescued.

In two other drives conducted at last night and 3am early today at the estuary of the Bakkhali River, the Coast Guard detained five suspected smugglers with 5,000 litres of diesel, lubricants and gas cylinders allegedly being trafficked to Myanmar. 

Another raid led to the detention of three more suspected smugglers with 450 sacks of cement. The estimated market value of the seized goods is around Tk10 lakh. 

In addition, nine Bangladeshis (eight men and one woman) were rescued after their boat capsized on their route to Malaysia. Found floating near the Andaman Islands on 1 April by the vessel MT Meghna Pride, they were handed over to the Coast Guard ship Mansur Ali at 2am today.

Legal proceedings are underway against the detainees, the Coast Guard official said.