THE BUREAU of Immigration (BI) intercepted eight individuals who were suspected to be human trafficking victims at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) last Dec. 15 as they tried to leave for northern Cyprus in the guise of being tourists. BI Port Operations Grifton SP. Medina, in a report to Commissioner Jaime H. Morente, said the six men and two women admitted that they intended to work abroad as cleaners and cook without proper documentation. Mr. Medina said the trafficking attempt was discovered when one of the female victims showed inconsistencies when interviewed by the Travel Control and Enforcement Unit. “(S)he admitted that she is traveling to Cyprus to work, and she voluntarily showed a message exchange between her and her recruiter discussing the amount that each of them would pay the syndicate for processing and facilitation their illegal travel to Cyprus,” he said. The six were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for assistance and further probe. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

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