MANILA, Philippines — Twelve suspected human trafficking victims who were about to leave the country were rescued at the Zamboanga International Seaport (ZIS), the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported Tuesday. BI Port Operations Division Chief Grifton Medina said the victims were about to board passenger ship M/V Antonia bound for Sandakan, in Sabah last December 17 when they were intercepted. In his report, BI-ZIS head supervisor Ibrahim Lim said all the victims are women who could not explain why they were leaving Zamboanga. The victims could not explain the purpose why they were sailing to Malaysia either, Lim said. “Because of this incident we were able to thwart an attempt by these trafficking syndicates to spirit their victims out of the country.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer December 24, 2019 05:37 UTC