NBI Arrest 3 Illegal Recruiters After Returning from Myanmar
Three suspected illegal recruiters were arrested after arriving in the Philippines along with ten other Filipinos who were rescued from Myanmar.
Authorities confirmed that the suspects were part of a scheme that lured job seekers into a scam operation abroad.
According to the investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation’s International Airport Investigation Division (NBI-IAID), the suspects recruited seven victims by offering them supposed call center jobs in Thailand.
They were promised attractive monthly salaries ranging from $800 or P45,000 to $1,200 (about P67,000).
The recruitment happened through social media, where the suspects convinced the victims that the job offers were legitimate. To make their promises more convincing, they provided fake documents, including fake certificates of employment.
Some of the victims were told they would be working as overseas workers in Jordan.
In a previous report, an alleged illegal recruiter arrested in Bacolod City after victimizing over 100 individuals
However, when the victims arrived in Thailand, they were taken across the border into Myanmar.
Instead of call center jobs, they were forced to work in a scam hub. The victims soon realized the harsh reality, they were not paid, and those who failed to scam foreigners were punished severely. They endured torture, physical punishment, and confinement as penalties
“Nagulat na lang sila na ganun ang pinagagawa sa kanila and hindi sila nasusuwelduhan, Nakakaranas sila ng torture or punishment ‘pag hindi sila nakapang-scam ng foreigner. Na-experience nila na mag-squat, hampasin, ikulong kung wala silang mabiktima,” Villardo said.
After more than four months of forced labor, the victims managed to seek help from authorities. They also discovered that the three suspects, who pretended to be fellow workers, were actually the same people who had recruited them online.
At first, they did not recognize them because the suspects used fake names and dummy accounts during the recruitment.
Chinese translators working for their captors accidentally revealed the real identities of the recruiters. Further investigation showed that these suspects had already recruited many others into similar scam operations.
The three are now facing serious charges of large-scale illegal recruitment and qualified human trafficking.
The social media users expressed their reactions to the post:
