41 Bangladeshi trafficking victims return today

Forty one Bangladeshi nationals earlier trafficked into Thailand by sea will return home this evening.

A flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying them will land at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 7:30pm, said a Bangladesh embassy press release.

Among the returnees, 13 hail from Cox’s Bazar, six from Jhenaidah, five each from Narsingdi and Sirajganj, four from Satkhira, three from Magura, two each from Jessore and Bandarban, and one from Faridpur districts.

As a special measure and follow-up to Bangladesh's commitment made at the May 29 Bangkok meeting, the repatriation of the above 41 detained Bangladeshi nationals are being fully sponsored by the Government of Bangladesh, which includes airfare, transportation from Suan Plu Immigration Detention Centre, Bangkok to Suvarnabhumi Airport and other expenses.

The Bangladesh embassy in Bangkok with the active support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs of Bangladesh and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and Thai Immigration Bureau, has so far repatriated 919 Bangladeshi nationals trafficked into Thailand since late 2013.

The Embassy has also repatriated 80 Bangladeshi nationals since the discovery of mass graves along the Thailand-Malaysia border on May 1 this year.

The embassy under direct supervision of the Ambassador Saida Muna Tasneem has been working relentlessly to expedite return of all the remaining stranded Bangladeshi nationals in Thailand at the shortest possible time.