DHAKA: A batch of 39 more Bangladeshis, who were trafficked into Thailand through sea route, was brought back to Dhaka on Wednesday night.
A flight, carrying them, landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in city around 8.30pm.
Among the returnees, 16 from Sirajganj, five from Cox’s Bazar, four from Chittagong, three from Narsingdi and Madaripur each, two from Rangamati, Chuadanga and Faridpur each, and one from Pabna and Magura districts each, sources said.
As a special measure, the repatriation of the above 39 detained Bangladeshi nationals were fully sponsored by the Bangladesh government, which includes airfare, transportation from Suan Plu Immigration Detention Centre, Bangkok to Suvarnabhumi Airport and other expenses.
Officials of several government agencies were quizzing the returnees, who were brought back with the help of International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Earlier on June 24, a batch of 41 Bangladeshis were brought back from Thailand. On June 15, another batch of 47 were brought back.
The Embassy of Bangladeshi in Bangkok with the active support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs of Bangladesh and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security of Thailand and the Thai Immigration Bureau, has so far repatriated 1003 Bangladeshi nationals trafficked into Thailand since late 2013.
Among these the Embassy under direct supervision of Bangladesh Ambassador in Thailand Saida Muna Tasneem, has repatriated 127 Bangladeshi nationals since the discovery of mass graves along the Thailand-Malaysia border on May 1 of 2015.
Following the latest repatriation of 39, a total of 470 self-claimed Bangladeshis now remain in the repatriation pipeline from Thailand.
Bangladesh Embassy in Bangkok has been working relentlessly and round-the-clock to expedite return of all the remaining stranded Bangladeshi nationals in Thailand at the shortest possible time, subject to due nationality verification.
BDST: 2137 HRS, JULY 01, 2015
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