SYNDICATES involved in human trafficking have been using religious travel or pilgrimage as their new modus to smuggle their victims out of the country, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said yesterday.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the scheme was discovered after officers of its Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU) intercepted two females who attempted to leave the country on board a Cebu Pacific flight to Dubai at the terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) last April 14.
Tansingco said the two women told immigration agents they were Muslim pilgrims and would travel by bus to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from Dubai to participate in Umrah, an important Islamic pilgrimage to the holy city of Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, KSA.
“They also claimed that they recently converted to Islam and plans to stay for seven days in Saudi Arabia,” Tansingco said.
However, immigration officers noted numerous inconsistencies in their statements and subjected them to a more intense interrogation, during which they admitted that their documents were fabricated, and that they were recruited via Facebook by a woman who processed their visas and tickets.
They also told the immigration officers they were instructed to pose as Muslim pilgrims to be able to depart the country without a hitch.
“These traffickers will stop at nothing to earn from their racket. They have even abused religion to evade immigration inspection,” the BI chief said, as he warned the public and those planning to work abroad of the new modus.
Tansingco said the two are now under the care of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for further investigation and to initiate cases against their recruiter.
