BI nabs human trafficker, intercepts victims lured by POGO-type jobs abroad

The Bureau of Immigration apprehended an alleged human trafficker at the Clark International Airport (CIA) on Christmas Day while intercepting several Filipinos who were lured by POGO-type jobs abroad.

According to a statement on Thursday, four victims and the suspect were intercepted while trying to board a Singapore-bound flight.

The victims initially claimed that they would be travelling as tourists, but eventually stated that they were travelling with a 38-year-old female escort and were recruited as encoders with a promised monthly salary of P60,000 from what they described as a company engaged in POGO-type operations in Cambodia.

The escort admitted to assisting the victims in entering Singapore where they will eventually transfer from there to Cambodia.

Earlier on December 10, a 28-year old man who admitted that he was recruited online to work in Laos was intercepted at Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport .

Four other persons who were flying to Cambodia to work illegally were intercepted on December 11, while five others who were on their way to Myanmar on December 18 were also prevented from leaving.

Two more incidents occurred on December 21 after two separate groups were intercepted for admitting they were recruited for customer service jobs with a P50,000 salary monthly, and a 27-year-old was nabbed for trying to illegally work in Thailand last December 22.

Immigration chief Joel Anthony Viado said that the incidents showed that Filipinos were being lured overseas for illegal work by online gaming and scam hubs after they were declared illegal in the Philippines.

“We’ve seen so many victims who have been forced to work as scammers abroad. Do not let this happen to you, do not allow yourself to be duped into agreeing to the terms set by these syndicates,” said Viado.

The victims have been turned over to the Inter-Agency Council against Trafficking (IACAT) for legal action against their recruiters. —Jiselle Anne Casucian/RF, GMA Integrated News