Coast guard rescues tourists, resort owner from Sundarbans hostage crisis
The Bangladesh Coast Guard has rescued two tourists and the owner of Golkanan Resort who were taken hostage by a gang of robbers in the Sundarbans.
The information was confirmed on Monday morning, 5 January 2026, by Lieutenant Commander Siam-ul-Haq, media officer of the Bangladesh Coast Guard.
According to him, at around 3:00 pm on Friday, 2 January, a wooden boat carrying tourists from Golkanan Resort to an area adjacent to Kanurkhal in the Sundarbans was intercepted by a group of robbers led by Masum Mridha. The gang took seven people hostage, including five tourists, a boatman and the resort owner.
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The robbers later released three tourists and the boatman but took two tourists and the resort owner to an unknown location in the Sundarbans and demanded ransom. The incident was subsequently reported to the Coast Guard by the resort authorities.
Following the report, joint operations and intelligence surveillance were intensified across different parts of the Sundarbans by the Coast Guard, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Police and Rapid Action Battalion.
During the operation, three associates of the gang leader were arrested on Saturday, 3 January. They were identified as Kuddus Hawlader, 43; Md Salam Baksh, 24; and Mehedi Hasan, 19. They were detained from different areas near Golkanan Resort in the Sundarbans.
On Sunday, 4 January, another accomplice, Alam Matabbar, 38, was arrested from the Kailashganj area of the Sundarbans. On the same day, based on intelligence surveillance and financial tracking, Masum Mridha's mother Joynabi Bibi, 55, and a bKash agent, Ayan Kundu, 30, were arrested from the Palerhat area under Rupsha police station in Khulna while withdrawing ransom money. Cash amounting to Tk81,400 was recovered during the arrest.
Later that evening, at around 7:00 pm, the Coast Guard rescued the two tourists and the resort owner through drone surveillance from an area adjacent to Gazi Fisheries in the Sundarbans.
Lieutenant Commander Siam-ul-Haq said operations and intelligence surveillance are continuing to arrest the main accused, Masum Mridha. He added that the process of handing over the rescued victims to their families and transferring the arrested suspects to the police is underway.
The Coast Guard said it will continue such operations to ensure the safety of tourists and the general public in the Sundarbans and coastal areas.
