By Tapasi Rabeya Akhi

DHAKA, May 18, 2026 (BSS) - Over the past 12 months, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) rescued 495 women and children from the country’s south-western border areas. 

The BGB’s Maheshpur and Jhenaidah battalions carried out the rescue operations. Later, the Ministry of Home Affairs assigned an international NGO called Justice and Care to provide legal support and reunite the victims with their rightful guardians. 

The organization works with the ministry to prevent human trafficking and illegal migration. 

Had these people crossed the border through trafficking routes, they would have become illegal intruders, while their lives would have faced grave risks under criminal smuggling networks.

As incidents of human trafficking and smuggling-related crimes continue to rise, the government has enacted the “Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Prevention and Suppression Act, 2026”. 

The new law includes offenses related to migrant smuggling to ensure justice for victims. 
Like the previous law, it retains life imprisonment and the death penalty as the maximum punishments for individual and organized human trafficking.

The Ministry of Home Affairs stated that the law will help properly identify cases and victims of trafficking and migrant smuggling, while ensuring stronger protection for victims of sexual exploitation, forced labor, criminal exploitation, slavery, and other serious forms of trafficking.

The law also upgrades Bangladesh’s legal framework to international standards and aligns the country’s definitions of trafficking and migrant smuggling with the United Nations Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Protocol and the Smuggling of Migrants (SOM) Protocol.

Under the new law, investigative agencies have been granted stronger powers considering the nature and scale of trafficking crimes. 

Landmark provisions such as freezing bank accounts, confiscating property, and conducting trials in the absence of accused persons have been incorporated.

 Passport or visa forgery for the purpose of migrant smuggling has also been classified as a serious punishable offense.

Senior Secretary Monjur Morshed Chowdhury said regarding the law, “Human trafficking and migrant smuggling have now emerged as global problems. Bangladesh is committed to addressing these issues and is playing a leading role in enacting laws in line with international standards.” 

He noted that the government formulated the “Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Act, 2026” in light with the 2000 United Nations Convention and its supplementary protocols.

He further stated, “The new law places special emphasis not only on strict measures against traffickers but also on ensuring the protection and rights of victims. In particular, modern crimes such as online fraud, scamming, and ransom collection have been brought under the law”.

In this connection, he said, “Strict laws alone are not enough to prevent human trafficking; media professionals must also play a strong role in raising public awareness to this end”.

The law also introduces changes in punishment according to the nature of offenses. Anyone allowing the use of property for trafficking or concealing documents to assist traffickers may face three to seven years’ imprisonment and a minimum fine of Tk 30,000. 

Importing or transferring someone for sexual exploitation may result in three to 10 years’ imprisonment and a minimum fine of Tk 50,000. Publishing fake online job advertisements or committing fraud in the name of migration now carries a sentence of three to seven years’ imprisonment.

Additionally, investigators can now use powers under the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012 to freeze traffickers’ bank accounts and investigate their income and assets. Human Trafficking Tribunals will also be able to simultaneously try related crimes such as assault, drug trafficking, or sexual violence, which previously required separate courts. International cooperation has also been strengthened to confiscate or seize assets located abroad.

Threatening victims or witnesses may result in three to seven years of imprisonment, while forcing victims into settlements may lead to two to five years of rigorous imprisonment. 

The law clearly states that victims who unintentionally commit certain illegal acts while being trafficked—such as carrying forged passports or illegal entry—will not be treated as accused persons. 

Officials responsible for shelters are now required to submit reports every six months on the condition of victims residing there.