Immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) intercepted a Malaysian couple suspected of being couriers for a human trafficking syndicate engaged in the illegal recruitment and deployment of undocumented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Malaysia.

 

            Bureau of Immigration (BI) said the foreigners were apprehended at the NAIA 3 terminal last June 20 as they were about to board a Cebu Pacific Air flight to Kona Kinabalu, Malaysia together with three of their male victims.

 

            David said all three victims pointed to the couple as their recruiters who facilitated their travel by securing their single-entry tourist visa from the Malaysian embassy in Manila.

            They admitted that they were hired to work as mechanics and welders for the Jin San Transport Contractor Snd. Bhd., a construction company owned by the Malaysians.

 

            David declined to divulge the names of the foreigners and OFWs as the law prohibits the public disclosure of human traffickers and their victims.

 

            The couple was later turned over to officials of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) at the NAIA for filing of appropriate criminal charges.

 

            Atty. Ma. Antonette Mangrobang, BI spokesperson and acting intelligence chief, said the Malaysians were placed in the bureau’s blacklist to prevent them from re-entering the country.

 

            She said that based on initial investigation, the couple arrived in Manila last June 18 and the next day they accompanied the victims to the Malaysian embassy.

 

            “They presented to the embassy the employment contracts of the victims so they were immediately given their visa,” Mangrobang said.

 

            She added that the BI will only deport the couple after they are charged and have served their sentence, if convicted.###