ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/12 December) – The local police rescued 30 human trafficking victims and arrested three suspected illegal recruiters late Wednesday, an official announced Friday.
Senior Supt. Angelito Casimiro, Zamboanga City police director, said the victims were rescued around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday from a suspected safe house in Barangay Cabatangan, this city.
Casimiro said the victims were rescued after a member of the Civilian Volunteer Organization reported and requested the policemen detailed at the Cabatangan Police Action Center to check the presence of a group of unidentified persons at a residential house in the community.
The police official did not release the victims’ identities except to say that 25 of them came from the province of Zamboanga Sibugay, three from Zamboanga del Norte, and two from this city.
He said they comprise 28 males and two females, and the oldest among them is 54 years old and the youngest is 19 years old. They were bound for Sabah.
The victims were turned over to the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Casimiro said.
He said the victims were supposed to leave Wednesday for Jolo, Sulu and later for Bongao, Tawi-Tawi but did not push through as they failed to catch the trip of M/L Rosmina from here.
He said that charges are set to be filed against the suspected illegal recruiters.
The suspected illegal recruiters include the caretaker of the safe house, a crewmember of M/L Rosmina and the third is a resident of R.T. Lim, Zamboanga Sibugay. (MindaNews)
