BI rescues Malta-bound trafficking victims

BI rescues Malta-bound trafficking victims | Daily Tribune

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday reported that it has completed the inquest proceedings against two suspected human traffickers who tried to smuggle six Filipinos to Malta recently.

Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES) chief Bienvenido Castillo III disclosed that the victims were intercepted on 22 March 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 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 and it was discovered that the six victims — who had been enlisted by the two female recruiters — were in fact headed for Malta.

Reports said that each victim paid P300,000 to P400,000 to their recruiters in exchange for completing their applications.

The agency also found out that their passports have been tampered with, with their visas chemically lifted from the passports as certified by the BI’s forensic documents laboratory.

BI commissioner Norman Tansingco lauded 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,” Tansingco said. “The entire IACAT (Inter-agency Council Against Trafficking) force is persistent in locating, arresting, and jailing these types of criminals.”

The six victims and the two recruiters were immediately turned over to the IACAT for processing.

They were assisted by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, while the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Task Force Against Trafficking, together with the National Bureau of Investigation International Airport Investigation Division, conducted the inquest proceedings against the two alleged traffickers.