“Once informed, a group of police led by Sub-Inspector (SI) Belal went to the village and arrested Ms Bilkis at about 3:00 pm,” said a local from Shapupri Dip. “We had informed the police we were seeing strangers going into her house at night.”

“She is one of the main traffickers of boat people in Shapuri Dip. There is a powerful syndicate in Shapuri Dip , which including Ms Bilkis, that sends Rohingya people to Malaysia by sea.”

“She is also involved in the business of smuggling yabaa pills from Burma, which is where her husband was working.”

“Ms Bilkis was arrested without incident and the Teknaf police station has many allegations against her,” noted Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mahabbul Haque.

Previously, local people had expressed their suspicions to the concerned authorities, but no action was taken. Locals thought this was because that she had good relations with the officials. Therefore, they were reluctant to voice complaints against her prior to the woman’s arrest.

One of the local businessmen from Shapuri Dip said, “If she is granted bail at court, then human trafficking from Burma will quickly restart.”