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.
















