The arrival of more than 655,000 vulnerable Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh in a four-month span has created a chaotic window of opportunity for those who seek to exploit them.

Small trafficking networks were already targeting the Rohingya minority and members of the local community in Southern Bangladesh ahead of the late August influx of refugees. Now, as aid workers continue to respond to the overwhelming needs of the stateless population, worry grows that once-disorganized trafficking gangs are quickly formalizing.

In terms of crime, it’s not as organized yet as you’d see in other cities of that size. But we all have to understand that this is a city … you have everything you would find in every other city.

Forced labor and sexual exploitation have become the most rampant forms of trafficking in the area. Desperate men, women, and children are being recruited with false offers of paid work in industries such as fishing, begging, and domestic work, according to interviews and community focus groups conducted in the district's makeshift settlements by the International Organization for Migration.

Read the full article on trafficking by Kelli Rogers at Devex International Development