Over 1,000 human tra icking victims rescued in Clark

THE Philippine National Police (PNP) has reported that more than 1,000 alleged victims of human trafficking were rescued while being forced to work for cyber scammers based in Clark, Pampanga.

In a report released on Friday, the PNP said a total of 1,090 people of various nationalities were saved during a raid conducted against the Colorful and Leap Group Company located at Clark Sun Valley Hub.

The victims included 389 Vietnamese, 307 Chinese, 171 Filipinos, 143 Indonesians, 40 Nepalese, 25 Malaysians, seven Burmese, five Thai, and two Taiwanese.

“Based on the investigation, the rescued victims were forced into working for a fraudulent cyber-enabled industry, victimizing their fellow citizens,” the PNP added.

The foreigners were documented by their embassy for booking and subsequent repatriation.

The raid was conducted by a composite team consisting of operatives from the PNP-Anti-Cybercrime Group, the Special Action Force, and Intelligence Group together with the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, the Department of Justice, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Bureau of Immigration, and the Interagency Council on Anti-Trafficking.

A follow-up investigation to track down the leaders of the syndicate was underway.

PNP chief Benjamin Acorda Jr. encouraged the public to report any suspicious activities related to human trafficking in their communities.

“We must all unite in this fight against human trafficking and help put an end to this inhumane practice,” Acorda said.

He said the police force will continue to work with other agencies to ensure that those involved in such horrible crimes were apprehended.