The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Sunday reported two Laos-bound passengers who were victims of human trafficking had been intercepted at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

In a report given to BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco, the Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES) said that the two male passengers were stopped on 14 March at NAIA Terminal 3 before they could board their Cebu Pacific flight bound for Thailand.

The passengers admitted that after arriving in Bangkok, they were supposed to be picked up and transported to Laos, where they work 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,” Tansingco said.

According to the I-PROBES, 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 which 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 were promised a monthly salary of US$400 while undergoing on-the-job training and US$1,000 when they became regular workers.

Immediately, the two intercepted passengers were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for assistance and further investigation.