Around six human trafficking boats reported to have been waiting around off Sittwe (Akyab) coast for past few days were abandoned by the traffickers after hearing of a police raid, according to the reliable sources.

With already around 70 people from on the boats, the human traffickers were waiting more potential victims from the Rohingya IDP (Internally Displaced People) Camps, whom (the victims) were set to be later smuggled to Malaysia via Thailand.

On Monday night around 9:30PM, acting upon an information tip, the Police in ‘Manzi’ village led by the Station Commander, Hla Myo Thu, made to the coast of ‘Ohn Daw Gyi’ village where the human traffickers were reported to be waiting.

However, the traffickers abandoned the boats and fled from the place to go into hiding before the police’s arrival. Upon so, the victims on the boats (who are) mostly from the IDP Camps – such as Bodu Pha, Thakkay Pyin, Ohn Daw Gyi, Thay Chaung and Aung Mingalar — also ran away in fear.

Later, the police came back and said “we went there but found no one.”

However, the police said that they would be looking for the human traffickers and take actions.

“Earlier, the armed forces and the administrative authorities have also been complicit in the human trafficking. Now, we pray and hope they do something to prevent the trafficking,” said a Rohingya youth in Ohn Daw Gyi.

AS the monsoon ends in Myanmar and the sea-weather en-route to Thailand has become calm and stable, the human traffickers have started the illegal trading of human beings touted to be a multi-million dollar business in the region. This time, they are said to be taking a different route and applying different tactic for trafficking.

(Read earlier reports: HERE and HERE.)

“The traffickers coax people. Or they entrap people to smuggle them to Malaysia. But as long as the violence and brutal persecution by the government against our people do not stop, the people will continue fleeing. By this means or by other means,” said a Rohingya at an IDP Camp in Sittwe.

 The Burmese Border Guard Police robbed a Rohingya woman while going through the check-post in Maungdaw Township on Sunday, according to eyewitnesses.

The victim is identified to be 39-year-old Kaneez Fatema Jamal Hussein hails from ‘Yedwin Chaung’ village in northern Maungdaw. She was on the way to ‘Myo Oo’ village when she got robbed. 

“The victim was said to be visiting Myo Oo (Naitor Dael) village to see her sick relatives. The BGP at the check-post nearby ‘Shwe Zarr (Shujah)’ bridge stopped their bus for a (routine) check-up like they usually do to Rohingya passers-by. As she got off from bus, she took off her Gold-Chain weighed 16-gram off her neck and put inside her purse.

However, a BGP staff put his hand inside her purse on pretext of checking out what’s inside. After that, the BGP staff asked her to leave. As she found her gold-chain missing from before she left, she went back to the BGP camp and asked them to give her chain back.

The BGP declined and said that they didn’t find any such thing in her purse. So, she started crying for the chain as she had only that to call her valuable belonging. The BGP scolded her and threatened to beat her 

So, she had to leave the place in desparity, ” said an eyewitness on the condition of anonymity.

The BGP at the ‘Shwe Zar’ Bridge-Post frequently rob valuable belongings from Rohingya passers-by, steal their money like pick-pockets, beat the (Rohingya) innocent people and often bodily harrass the women. However, the higher authorities fail to take actions against the Barbaric BGP police despite knowing everything.

“The higher authorities know that. But they don’t do anything to stop this. So, it can be interpreted as ‘the higher authorities are also complicit in the crimes,” remarked an elderly Rohingya in Maungdaw.