Across the previous months, the Teknaf region has been the hotspot of all sorts of trafficking activity. While Teknaf’s infamy for trafficking is hardly a new phenomenon, concerns have risen following the fall of the Bangladesh Awami League government and the rise of a comparatively more unregulated, volatile security situation across Bangladesh’s borders in the region. Human trafficking has emerged recently as a particularly rising phenomenon, with increasing numbers of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas being sent through trafficking networks to South-East Asia. Abductions have also continued, along with signs of simmering unrest in Rohingya refugee camps. This OSINT report details the findings as of the month of November.
A) Raids and busts:
Bangladeshi security forces have kept the tempo of anti-trafficking drives after September and October saw large busts of human, arms, and drugs traffickers. Arms trafficking for its part, has come down in terms of the number of captures in November 2025. Yet, the hills of Baharchhara continue to be a human trafficking hotspot. A major bust on the 29th of October resulted in 26 Rohingyas being rescued by Coast Guard formations responsible for the region. [BSS]
Increased numbers of Rohingyas are being trafficked from Bangladesh to destinations such as Malaysia and Indonesia. Conditions for asylum-seeking in both of those states remain highly unfavorable as the vessels they are often sent onboard are not seaworthy enough for the journey. Early November saw the capsizing of a boat carrying 70 Rohingya refugees near the Malaysia-Thailand border, resulting in at least 21 confirmed deaths. [BBC]
Such tragic incidents pile on top of the fact that attitudes towards recent Rohingya arrivals have turned negative in Indonesia (except Aceh for the most part) and Malaysia for a variety of reasons. Malaysian authorities have adopted a low-tolerance stance towards illegal immigration and arrivals that are a result of human trafficking.
Recent cases of illegal Bangladeshis being rounded up in Malaysia for detention and deportation come to mind when considering human trafficking busts recorded later in November. Busts on the 3rd, 18th, and 25th have rescued Bangladeshi victims. Some of those rescued have turned out to be children, and further damning details indicate that torture for ransom or extortion is a common feature of those organizing the trafficking operations. Of course, these human trafficking rings are well-organized and persistent and as long as there are are vulnerable Bangladeshis and Rohingyas to exploit, the phenomenon will remain. [TBS]
Drug busts completed on the 18th and 28th have resulted in the seizure of a CNG and what appears to be a 4th-generation Toyota Noah. These vehicles were used to transport contraband in an out of Teknaf. The Noah was seized with 42,000 pills of yaba while the CNG was seized with 10,000 pills. Drivers of both have been detained and are waiting prosecution. The use of motor vehicles is surefire evidence for an organized division-level and even country-level syndicate that employs such drivers for transporting yaba out of Cox’s Bazar and into the rest of the country. Tracing such ‘mules’ to locations outside of Cox’s Bazar is bound to lead to more information about buyers, sellers, and distributors. [Kaler Kontho, Coast Guard Bulletin]
The notable arrest of Union Parishad member Nurul Huda in Teknaf has simultaneously resulted in the recovery of drugs and arms contraband. Formerly affiliated to the Bangladesh Awami League (BAL), Nurul Huda is drug dealer listed by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Prothom Alo also reported that Nurul Huda had been incognito for a long while and has engaged in anti-government activities. In total, he has been accused in 28 criminal cases for drugs, illegal arms, kidnapping, and assaulting law enforcement personnel. Archives suggest that Nurul Huda had been a drug trafficker for a rather long time, with Dhaka Tribune recording an arrest in 2014 for yaba and arms. Noting the ages recorded in either report leads to a measured certainty about whether or not it is the same Nurul Huda. [Prothom Alo, Dhaka Tribune]
Scattered busts of Yaba dealers have occurred throughout the month of November, resulting on seizures of varying size. Those arrested appear to be isolated, ‘sole trading’ dealers with smaller shipments but large busts scaling up to trafficking networks have not occurred. A particularly large bust on the 24th of November, 2025 resulted in two suspects fleeing while another was arrested, according to information provided by Lieutenant Colonel Ashikur Rahman. This particular bust was carried out by a joint team of BGB and RAB operatives and resulted in the capture of 100,000 pills. Unsurprisingly, this consignment originated from Myanmar, prompting questions about the true reach of the Golden Triangle drug production hub. [Jagonews24]
It has been noted that this arrest drive was made possible through the deployment of technological solutions for surveillance. It enabled security forces to surprise the drug traffickers while they were in the midst of off-loading contraband. Yet, the difficult terrain and dense vegetation of the area near Baharchhara allowed two suspects to flee with their vessel. This remained the largest and the most important drug trafficking bust for November 2025.
B) Abductions:
The Arakan Army’s coastal units have continued to detain Bangladeshi fishermen off the coast of St. Martin’s Island throughout November. 5th November saw six Bangladeshi individuals being detained at a spot rather close to the Arakanese coast, at least according to the Global Arakan Network (GAN). Despite being a very obviously partisan news source, the GAN has still reliably produced information regarding these detentions. Back to back arrest drives on the 10th, 12th and 13th resulted in the detention of a total of 34 fishermen south of St. Martin’s island, the mouth of the Naf river, and in a part of the river close to Khan Char respectively.
When documenting these incidents, Global Arakan Network has claimed in one of the reports that fishing boats are often used by Rohingya militants to conduct reconnaissance and raiding operations. Such an operating procedure might be in line what the Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA) has been seen doing in combat footage where a fishing boat commandeered by them is rather clearly visible.
Some merit may still be assumed in such claims due to the fact that abductions on the 18th closer to St. Martin’s have been of Rohingya fishermen. Information suggesting that they were Rohingyas was published by The Daily Star, while GAN reporting on the same incident identified them as Bangladeshis fishing very close to the Arakanese coast near the settlement of Donbaik, clearly indicating that they sailed a very far distance. It is known that owners of fishing enterprises often employ Rohingya as crew due to rising labor costs, although Rohingya refugees are not legally permitted to work outside of the camps. [Daily Star, GAN]
Subsequent arrest drives on the 25th and 27th of November resulted in the detention of a total of 12 more Bangladeshi fishermen, making for a rather active month for Arakan Army coastal units. The locations of where the detentions take place are often conflicting, but Arakanese officials regularly accuse Bangladeshi fishermen of fishing inside internationally recognized Myanmar territory. Global Arakan Network goes as far as to claim that they engage in sabotage of the equipment of local fishermen by cutting their fishing nets.
“The waters where we caught them are quite far from the maritime boundaries of Bangladesh. They have entered into Rakhine State for fishing activities. Even if they were to return to Bangladesh, the distance is considerable. If they continue to travel a bit more, they will arrive at Sittwe. That itself demonstrates their audacity.” – Says a local resident quoted by Burma News International. [Burma News International]
If fishermen are frequently crossing international borders to fish in Bangladesh, it is undoubtedly a matter requiring urgent law enforcement attention. The sheer frequency of detentions in the month of November is alarming to say the least, and in the event of combat activities picking up in that part of Arakan, the risk for loss of life is enormous.
Nonetheless, the most notable incident of abduction in Teknaf for the month occurred inland, in a Rohingya camp situated in Leda of Hnila. A middle-aged Rohingya man named Nurul Hasan was abducted by an armed gang of Rohingyas that forcefully broke into his family dwelling with firearms. After having looted valuables and assaulted family members, the bandits then promptly dragged Nurul Hasan off into the hills for unknown purposes.
It is known that Nurul Hasan had been a career criminal involved with a clique led by a certain ‘Tiger Jamal’ before attempting to leave the criminal lifestyle. His son further alleges that a bandit group known as ‘Khalek Bahini’ joined the raid to apprehend him alongside Tiger Jamal’s men. It is not known with certainty which Rohingya militant group Tiger Jamal or Khalek Bahini as a whole are affiliated with. It was still noted that the bandits were armed with relatively heavy weapons, even potentially foreign-made. [Daily Star]
APBn men from Camp-24 were the first to respond and they fired 61 rounds at the suspects in an attempt to force them to surrender, but failed. The Daily Star did mention in its report however, that attempts to rescue Nurul Hasan were ongoing. This incident at the time of writing has been among the latest in instances of Rohingyas being victimized by other Rohingyas. It normally speaks to the state of criminal activities engaged in by refugees, but there is reason to believe that certain incidents are in fact related to Rohingya militant groups. It was noted in 2024 that the steadily rising impunity of Rohingya militant groups inside the refugee camps have allowed them to raise the tempo of their military operations inside Myanmar.
C) Gunfire:
Typically, incidents of gunfire recorded by residents of Teknaf originate from the Myanmar side of the border. Armed confrontations between Rohingya militant groups and the Arakan Army have continued intermittently since December 2024 and stray bullets falling inside Bangladesh is hardly uncommon. Such incidents have even caused injuries and property damage in late October.
Gunfire incidents appear to have died down for the month, but a notable incident occurring on the 9th of November nearly victimized APBn personnel at Nayapara. The incident in question arose from a conflict between Rohingya criminal groups identified as the ‘Nur Kamal’, ‘Saddam’, and ‘Saleh’ groups. Such conflicts undoubtedly emerge from dispute over the control of routes or contraband and the hilly tracts adjacent to Nayapara appear to be prime operating grounds for such criminal operations. Indeed, control of lucrative trafficking routes for yaba and illegal arms drive much of the operations of such bandit groups.
With rounds striking the ground right next to the APBn camp personnel, they returned fire in a bid to attempt to bring the situation under control. Ittefaq does report that combing and patrol operations by the APBn remain in effect, but any serious attempt to capture them results in great difficulties for police units due to the difficult hilly terrain. The bandits themselves appear to be highly mobile, and their firepower can keep police units at bay while they flee.
The APBn camp and the aforementioned hilly tracts are close in proximity to a major Rohingya refugee camp. Sporadic gun battles between criminals and law enforcement personnel result in unsafe living conditions. Organized Rohingya bandit groups happen to often be affiliated to the members of the ‘Four Brotherhood Alliance’ of Rohingya militant groups. ARSA’s stint as an organized criminal enterprise in previous years is well-documented, and Nabi Hossain’s Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA) also began simply as the ‘Nabi Hossain gang’.
Further brazen acts of impunity from any of the currently-operated bandit groups ought to be surveilled with an eye to determining whether or not they have any ambitions towards establishing themselves as militant outfits comparable to any one of the members of the ‘Four Brotherhood Alliance’.
Verification Note: Information is sourced from and corroborated from government websites, documents, and news sources. Sources are carefully weighed for authenticity, and sources making superfluous claims without evidence are discarded. Information is then analyzed and interpreted to come to conclusions. Maps and overlays are created using QGIS and Google My Maps.
Fatin Anwar is an Associate Analyst at Bangladesh Defence Journal. He is responsible for in-depth research and analysis in combination with OSINT tools/techniques A gradaute of geography from the University of Dhaka, he had previously spent years working as a freelance writer specializing in research-heavy pieces related to geopolitics and military history.