Authorities have arrested two Taiwanese nationals at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for allegedly attempting to traffic six Filipinos to Cambodia to work in a scam operation.

Maj. Shari Vanneza Deseo, a spokesperson for the Philippine National Police-Women and Children Protection Center (WCPC), said the Filipinos — two women and four men ages 26 to 29 from Metro Manila — were recruited via social media with a promise of a monthly salary of P50,000.

Deseo said the victims were aware they would be working as scammers.

“Maybe it’s because of the hardships of life that they are willing to take on this kind of work,” she said.

The WCPC believes a Filipino facilitator in Cambodia ordered the recruitment.

The Taiwanese suspects are being held at the WCPC facility and face charges of human trafficking and large-scale, syndicated illegal recruitment. If convicted, they could face life imprisonment and up to P7 million in fines. The WCPC is also pursuing charges against the Filipino facilitator.

“I talked with one of the arrested suspects,” Deseo said. “He said he has returned to the Philippines many times. They pick up or fetch our victims and bring them to Cambodia.”

The six rescued Filipinos were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking. Five of them have been endorsed to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty, who is in charge of the council, said in a television interview that the victims are currently in a shelter where their needs are being met.

He stressed the importance of strengthening referral mechanisms to combat human trafficking, noting that law enforcement agencies cannot do the job alone.