NBI agents intercept suspected human trafficker; rescue seven, mostly minors

AT least seven persons, most of them minors, were rescued by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) from an alleged human-trafficking syndicate in an operation in North Harbor, Manila.

Roland Argabioso, chief of the NBI’s Field Operations Division, said two persons were arrested while another is still at large.

Argabioso witheld the names of the victims and the suspects owing to the confidentiality clause in crimes involving human trafficking. The victims—four females and three males, are reportedly aged 16 to 18.

NBI agents are preparing charges for violation of Republic Act 9208, the Antitrafficking in Persons Act of 2003, against the suspects.

Argabioso said the operation was launched after the NBI received information that several minors from Dipolog City were recruited and promised jobs as saleswomen in a department store in Manila.

The informant told NBI officials that the minors were unaware of the modus operandi of the recruiter, who is a known supplier of prostitution houses in Manila.

The ferry where the recruits were being transported was scheduled to arrive on June 4, at 3 p.m. from Dipolog City. The informant added the minors will be picked up from the port and will be taken to an undisclosed location somewhere in Manila.

The informant disclosed that one of the victims is her cousin, whom she had constant communication with through text messages.

The informant claimed that on the morning of June 3, she received a text message from her cousin that she would be arriving in Manila.

When the informant asked her cousin the reason for coming to Manila, her cousin replied that she was recruited by a certain “Inday” to work as a saleswoman in Manila.

The informant said that the names and ages of the victims were changed when tickets were purchased for a trip to Manila, on board M/V Dipolog Princess.

The NBI then set up an operation on June 4 to rescue the trafficked persons and arrest the suspects.

The NBI agents positioned themselves in the area where the passengers would be alighting at Pier 12 of North Harbor.
At 4 a.m. on June 4, one of the victims, the informant’s cousin, was spotted by the NBI going toward a parking area where she was approached by a woman and a man.

The three then proceeded to Moriones Street, where a white van was waiting. The NBI agents then approached and identified themselves. The two suspects were placed under arrest. –TJ Agcaoili Correspondent, Business Mirror