Bangladesh stops Rohingya preparing to board boat to Malaysia

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh: Bangladesh police arrested an alleged human trafficker and intercepted two Rohingya refugees preparing to board a boat for Malaysia, of

Police acting on a tip-off raided a home near the coastal town of Teknaf in southeastern Bangladesh, where a promised voyage across the Bay of Bengal. Two Rohingya Muslims, both men, were among the group.

The pair had arrived from Myan- mar since August, when a surge of violence in Rakhine state forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya across the border.

The other three would-be passengers were Bangladeshi, another

“They were herded there as part of an effort to take them to Malaysia. They said they would be taken there by sea,” Teknaf police chief Main Uddin told

Rohingya men who had already paid 10,000 taka ($120) each. The arrested person is being charged

The would-be passengers told police they had promised to pay the alleged trafficker, a Bangladeshi, another 200,000 taka each upon arrival in Malaysia.

Since August nearly 650,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled a military operation in Myanmar’s westernmost Rakhine state described by the UN and US as “ethnic cleansing.”

Bangladesh authorities worry many refugees may risk traveling to Southeast Asia by boat, a route once popular among Rohingya seeking economic opportunities outside the grim, long-standing camps in Cox’s Bazar.

People smugglers in recent years have sent tens of thousands of Rohingya from Bangladesh to Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country in Southeast Asia, usually between November and March when seas are calmest.

But these networks were targeted by Bangladesh in 2015 after Thai authorities discovered mass graves and boats overcrowded with thousands of migrants drifted at sea while Southeast Asian nations squabbled over a solution.

Bangladesh police said they were questioning the alleged people smuggler to determine whether he was part of a larger

Bangladesh has arrested dozens up networks since the 2015 crackdown, but authorities fear these networks could be revived during the latest Rohingya crisis.

The refugees living in camps in Cox’s Bazar are prohibited from leaving the area, but already aid groups are targeting the stateless minority.

Bangladesh in recent months has stepped up patrols in coastal - lice say.