Human trafficking victims rescued
By Bong Garcia
Friday, January 20, 2012
OPERATIVES of the Maritime Police Command have rescued 36 victims of human trafficking aboard a commercial ferry in the province of Tawi-Tawi, an official said.
Inspector Wilfredo Abellon, operations chief of the Maritime regional office, said the victims were rescued Wednesday in the town of Bongao, the capital of Tawi-Tawi province.
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Abellon said the victims were rescued aboard a commercial ferry that came from Zamboanga City and was on its way to Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia.
The vessel was on a stopover when they rescued the victims, Abellon added.
He said the victims were composed of 27 males, nine females and a minor, who come from Maguindanao, Cotabato, Bicol, and other parts of Luzon and the Visayas.
He said the rescued victims were immediately taken to Zamboanga City and are now in the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Investigation, aimed unmask the recruiter of the group who was not in the vessel when the victims were rescued, is ongoing, Abellon said.
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