9 trafficking victims rescued in Thailand, Malaysia repatriated
MANILA – The Bureau of Immigration on Thursday said nine human trafficking victims have been rescued from Malaysia and Thailand, and repatriated to the Philippines.
The bureau said the two batches of repatriated workers arrived in Manila from Malaysia on May 9 and from Thailand on May 11. The six who were rescued from Bangkok supposedly left the country in the last quarter of 2022 as tourists, and were promised customer service jobs with a salary range of P40,000 to P60,000.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said in a statement that the victims brought home from Thailand, “like other cases of human trafficking in the Southeast Asia region,” were also brought to Mae Sot City in Thailand “to be forced to work in online love scams and crypto rings.”
“The victims recounted how they had to endure physical torture for not meeting their quota. They were detained until they could pay ransom for their release,” the BI said. They also said they met their recruiter on Facebook. The immigration bureau has started conducting lengthy screening process on travelers as it noted a rise in the number of young professionals being deceived by cryptocurrency scams abroad that advertise false promises of high salaries.
Scammers behind these false job advertisements have reportedly transported young Filipino professionals to Myanmar and other Asian countries and forced them to work under abuse.
Sex trafficking in Malaysia
Meanwhile, three other victims from Malaysia left the country via boat through Zamboanga and Tawi-Tawi.
They also left the country in the last quarter of 2022 to work as massage therapists in Miri, Malaysia, but they were instead forced to engage in sex work in spa parlors.