THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Sunday completed the inquest proceedings against two alleged human traffickers who attempted to facilitate the travel of six Filipino victims to Malta.
Immigration protection and border enforcement section (I-PROBES) Chief Bienvenido Castillo III shared that the victims were intercepted last March 22 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 after attempting to depart as tourists on board a Philippine Airlines flight to Hong Kong.
The victims, comprised of 5 females and 1 male, initially claimed to be traveling abroad as tourists with two other female companions who they said was their churchmate.
Immigration officers noted inconsistencies in their statements and subjected them to secondary inspection. It was later found out that the 6 victims were actually bound for Malta after being recruited by the two female recruiters.
The victims paid 300-400 thousand pesos each to their recruiters in exchange for processing of their application.
It was also found out that their passports have been tampered, with their visas chemically lifted from their passports as certified by the BI’s forensic documents laboratory.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco hailed the arrest and detention, saying that traffickers who prey on the vulnerable to earn money deserve to face the consequences of their action.
“Let this be a warning against human traffickers who dupe victims to agreeing to depart via illegal means,” said Tansingco. “The entire IACAT force is persistent in locating, arresting, and jailing these types of criminals,” he added.
The 6 victims and the 2 recruiters were immediately turned over to the inter-agency council against trafficking for processing. The National Bureau of Investigation International Airport Investigation Division (NBI-IAID), with the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Task Force Against Trafficking (NAIATFAT), conducted the inquest proceedings against the duo while the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) provided assistance to the victims.
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