IMMIGRATION officers stationed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) prevented the trafficking of six victims recruited by a former POGO worker to work in a scam hub in Cambodia.
The rescue is in line with President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr.’s directive to protect Filipinos from human trafficking and illegal recruitment.
BI immigration protection and border enforcement section (I-PROBES) officers intercepted seven passengers, three males and four females, at NAIA Terminal 3 last November 8 after they attempted to board a Cathay Pacific flight to Vietnam.
The group initially claimed to be bound for Ho Chi Minh City as a group of friends traveling for a two-day vacation. However, primary inspection officers doubted their itineraries and referred them to the I-PROBES for secondary checks.
During the interview, the victims admitted that they were recruited to work in Cambodia, in a company that the BI believes is linked to regional scam hubs.
Three of them were found to be part of the recruitment process, including one who admitted that he used to work at a POGO company. The recruiter admitted that an Indonesian colleague in the POGO company paid him money to escort the victims out of the country.
“We now see links between closed POGO companies in the Philippines and these scam hubs abroad,” said BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado. “Some POGO companies that were shut down were masquerading as legitimate businesses but were actually involved in scam operations. Now that they have closed shop, they are recruiting Pinoys to work in scam hubs abroad,” he added.
Viado urged the public to refrain from accepting similar offers from recruiters. Repatriated victims reported being abused, tortured, and electrocuted while working for said companies.
The victims and suspects were turned over to the inter-agency council against trafficking (IACAT).
On Monday, the BI received information that a case has been filed against the recruiter through the assistance of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) International Airport Investigation Division
