Bureau of Immigration (BI) agents at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have intercepted four women being trafficked to Lebanon to work as household service workers.
According to BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco, three of the victims were already cleared for departure when they were intercepted after attempting to board an Air Asia flight to Kuala Lumpur last April 21.
Separately, another female victim was intercepted bound Bangkok on the same day, after attempting to depart via a Cebu Pacific flight.
Tansingco further reported that the passengers initially disguised as tourists claiming that they will be touring abroad, but later confessed that their final destination is Lebanon, where they were recruited to work.
“Sending people abroad without proper documents, let alone to countries with existing deployment bans, raises security threats for our OFWs even more,” said Tansingco.
The victims further told BI agents that they were recruited by one Helen, who they met on Facebook, and provided them travel documents.
They also disclosed that they were all allegedly instructed by their recruiter to queue for clearance at a specific immigration booth. The officer who cleared the victims has since been relieved of his duties, and is undergoing investigation.
4 Lebanon-bound passengers intercepted at NAIA — bi
“Corruption has no place in our agency. Immediate action against employees who are possibly conniving with these syndicates will serve as a big deterrent to others who might be thinking of following suit,” said Tansingco.
The trafficking victims were turned over to the Inter-Agency Against Trafficking (IACAT) for investigation and filing of cases against their recruiters.
Meanwhile, BI also arrested a South Korean woman wanted by authorities in her country for fraud.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said 28-year-old Kim Yerum is now in BI custody, following her April 25 arrest in angeles City, Pampanga by members of the Bureau’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU).
Kim was arrested on the strength of a deportation warrant issued by Tansingco based on a summary deportation order, which the BI Board of Commissioners issued against the Korean in October 2021.
She was ordered deported after the South Korean authorities informed the BI about her presence in the country, and her record as a wanted fugitive in Korea.
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