Indonesia Discovers 193 Bangladeshis Confined in Shop House, Reports Reuters

Indonesian Police Rescue 193 Bangladeshi Victims of Human Trafficking

MEDAN, Indonesia – Indonesian authorities discovered 193 Bangladeshi nationals confined in a shop house after traffickers had promised to transport them to Malaysia, according to an immigration official on Thursday.

The individuals entered Indonesia as tourists, arriving via Bali and Yogyakarta, with aspirations of finding work in Malaysia, as per the North Sumatra immigration chief. "They are victims of human trafficking, lured here under false pretenses,” said Fery Monang Sihite in a telephone interview. The men were found locked up in Medan, located on the island of Sumatra.

When located on Tuesday night, the men appeared to be in good health and have since been taken to an immigration detention facility where they will be repatriated to Bangladesh, Sihite reported.

One of the men, identified as 39-year-old Mahbub, mentioned that some members of the group had endured captivity for three months. "All of us were conned. Our intended destination was Malaysia. We traveled from Bangladesh to Bali and then spent four days on a bus to reach here," Mahbub was quoted as saying.

Authorities were alerted to the situation after neighbors reported unusual noises emanating from the building. Sihite confirmed that the group did not belong to the Rohingya community.

In recent years, hundreds of Rohingya have arrived by boat in Sumatra after fleeing persecution in Myanmar and Bangladesh, often with hopes of reaching Malaysia. Myanmar considers the Rohingya as illegal migrants, confining many to overcrowded camps in Rakhine state amidst ongoing violence since 2012.

According to United Nations agencies, more than 700,000 Rohingya have crossed into Bangladesh following a military crackdown in northern Rakhine.