LAWMEN have prevented a human trafficking attempt as they rescued nine individuals bound for Malaysia and Thailand in a law enforcement operation at the airport of Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, the police said Saturday, August 30.
The Tawi-Tawi Maritime Police Station (Marpsta) said the rescued potential human trafficking victims include six men and three women.
The Tawi-Tawi MARPSTA said the potential victims were rescued on Wednesday, August 27, while in the process of conducting verification and profiling of passengers at the Sanga-Sanga Airport in Bongao.
“This successful rescue is the result of close cooperation between law enforcement agencies and local institutions,” the Tawi-Tawi Marpsta said in a statement.
Rosabelle Sulani, head of the Municipal Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (Miacat)-Bongao, said based on investigation that five of the nine were headed to Tawau, Malaysia while the other four to Bangkok, Thailand.
The nine rescued individuals were offered jobs as customer service representatives by a person known as alias “Sky.”
They were brought to the headquarters of the 1st Special Operations Unit for documentation and transferred to the care of the Ministry of Social Welfare and Development in Bongao for proper assistance.
The Tawi-Tawi Marpsta and Miacat-Bongao urged the public to be cautious of job offers aboard, especially those that require immediate departute from the country. (SunStar Zamboanga)