6 Filipinos rescued from human trafficking syndicates in Myanmar

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 16) — Six Filipinos were rescued from human trafficking syndicates in Myanmar after they escaped to Thailand, Malacañang reported on Monday.

The victims—four females and two males who were not identified due to security reasons—were recruited via social media and were made to believe that they would be working as customer service representatives in Thailand.

However, upon arriving in Thailand, they were brought to Myawaddy, Myanmar where they were made to work in a love scam and cryptocurrency operations.

They were able to get in touch with Police Col. Dominador Matalang, the police attaché in Bangkok, who coordinated with the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) for their rescue.

"The six Filipinos had to endure a tortuous journey by land from KK Park and Century Park Myawaddy to the border crossing of Myanmar and Thailand. They then crossed the Moi River by boat to the other side of the border where they had to travel for another 30 minutes to a hotel in Mae Sot City, Thailand," Malacañang said.

They stayed in the hotel for a night before traveling for another eight hours to Bangkok where they stayed for four days to process their travel documents. They said the syndicate took their passports and other belongings.

The victims arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 on May 11 after they were rescued through the coordinated efforts of the Office of the Police Attaché in Thailand and the PAOCC.

The Palace said the victims were also provided with legal, medical, and psychological aid.

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin tasked the PAOCC and other involved agencies to investigate the case to identify the recruiters in the Philippines for prosecution.