Immigration operatives offloaded four Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on suspicion that they were victims of human trafficking.
The four were prevented from boarding their flight bound to Hong Kong at NAIA Terminal 1 last December 22, according to reports.
They were hired to work as contract workers by a certain “Emily,” who happend to be the mother of one of the victims, in the United Arab Emirates, according to BI’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU).
“The three women admitted that they were recruited to work as domestic helpers while their male companion said he was hired to work as a secretary,” BI-TCEU head Ma. Timotea Barizo said.
Authorities also nabbed an African with Chinese descent, identified as Honda Winto Chen, 43, who attempted to leave the country by passing himself as a Filipino.
Chen was en-route to Tokyo, Japan when he was arrested at NAIA terminal 3 on December 24 after BI’s travel database revealed discrepancies with his Burkina Faso passport.
Chen was brought to a detention facility in Taguig while the four victims were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for further investigation.
