Trafficking victims intercepted

The Bureau of Immigration reported on Sunday that two individuals believed to be victims of human trafficking were intercepted by its officers at Ninoy Aquino International Airport and were stopped from leaving the country.

According to the Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section, the two male passengers were stopped at NAIA Terminal 3 before they could board their Cebu Pacific flight bound for Thailand last 14 March.

Based on the reports, the passengers admitted that after arriving in Bangkok, they were supposed to be picked up and transported to Laos, where they worked as call center agents for a company believed to have a connection with the notorious crypto currency investment fraud.

“Thanks to the vigilance of our officers at the airport, we again saved two of our countrymen from these syndicates that operate scams, which harmed and ruined the lives of many people who were virtually treated as slaves by their employers,” said BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco.

Meantime, the I-PROBES disclosed that the duo initially claimed they were tourists who would be vacationing for five days in Thailand and that they were locally employed by a telecommunications company, which turned out to be false.

They also admitted that they were locally unemployed and that their Chinese recruiter was the one who gave them the documents that they possessed.

The two passengers added that their documents were only sent to them via courier to the hotel where they stayed prior to their flight. They allegedly promised a monthly salary of US$400 while undergoing on-the-job training and US$1,000 when they became regular workers.

They were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for assistance and further investigation.