Jakarta, IO – The Filipino Police reported that it has saved more than 1,000 victims of human trafficking, including from Indonesia, who were tricked into illegal employment in an online casino network located in Manila.
According to Berita Satu, Wednesday (28/06/2023), the Filipino Police raid was mounted on Monday (26/06/2023) night. Without specifying the exact number of victims, they are reported to have originated from Indonesia, Mainland China, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Pakistan, Cameroon, Sudan, and Myanmar.
Filipino authorities reported that most of these victims have been forced to work 12 hours a day with an average monthly wage of ₱ 24,000.00 (about Rp 6.5 million or USD 434.00). None of the victims were allowed to leave the building complex that served as the casino.s headquarters.
“The Filipino authority are still interviewing the detainees to identify which of them are the victims and which are perpetrators,” declared Filipino police officer Michelle Sabino. “This is one of the biggest human trafficking-related raids in the Philippines. These victims have accepted job offers for ‘online gaming’ posted on Facebook.”
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Separately, Itayi Viriri, Spokesman for the UN’s International Organization on Migration, declared that victims are frequently trapped by these spurious offers, and then exploited, abused, their travel documents confiscated, and their monies limited so that they become isolated from the outside world for prolonged durations. “Therefore, we strongly appreciate the action taken by the Filipino authorities to intervene, because these people are clearly victoms and hostages who require external intervention to be free from their kidnappers” he declared. (bp)