Dhaka, July  22

Myanmar sent 155 migrants back to Bangladesh today, more than a month after rescuing them from a boat stranded at sea.

Bangladesh said it had agreed to take back the 155 after a rigorous process  verifying their nationality.

Thousands of migrants, most of them Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar or economic migrants from Bangladesh were stranded in Southeast Asian waters in May after a Thai crackdown on people-smuggling led gang bosses to abandon their victims.

The crisis shone a spotlight on the multi-million dollar industry that preys on the desperation of tens of thousands trying to escape grinding poverty in Bangladesh or persecution in Myanmar.

“The group of people are the victims of recent human trafficking by sea in the region of Indian Ocean,” Bangladeshi foreign ministry spokesman Arafat Rahman said. Bangladesh has now taken back 342 trafficking victims from Myanmar, including the latest repatriations.

“The repatriation process manifests Bangladesh’s commitment and seriousness in carrying out the repatriation of the verified Bangladeshis within the shortest possible time,” said Rahman.