BI completes inquest of two traffickers
(Photo from Bureau of Immigration / Facebook)
Daily Tribune(Photo from Bureau of Immigration / Facebook)
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) completed the inquest proceedings against two individuals believed to be involved in human trafficking. The suspects attempted to assist six Filipino victims in traveling to Malta.
Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES) Chief Bienvenido Castillo III said that the victims were intercepted on 22 March at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 after attempting to depart as tourists on board a Philippine Airlines flight to Hong Kong.
The five female victims and one male victim initially claimed to be tourists visiting different countries with two other female companions who they claimed to be church members.
BI officers conducted a secondary inspection after seeing discrepancies in their statements.
It was then discovered that the six victims—who had been enlisted by the two female recruiters—were in fact headed for Malta.
Each victim paid P300,000 to P400,000 to their recruiters in exchange for completing their applications.
The Bureau 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 into 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 six victims and the two recruiters were immediately turned over to the inter-agency council against trafficking for processing.
The victims were assisted by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), while the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Task Force Against Trafficking (NAIATFAT), together with the National Bureau of Investigation International Airport Investigation Division (NBI-IAID), conducted the inquest proceedings against the two alleged traffickers.