Manila: The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Monday raised the alarm over a new trafficking scheme where victims were made to pose as missionaries on a church trip.
According to Philippines News Agency, Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado stated that agents from the Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES) prevented three women, aged 23, 25, and 50, from boarding a Scoot Airlines flight to Singapore that was connecting to Thailand at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 on April 1. The women claimed to be full-time church volunteers designated for a missionary mission in Thailand. However, discrepancies in their documents raised suspicion, leading to further questioning.
Upon questioning, two of the women confessed they were not part of a missionary group but were licensed teachers recruited for illegal employment at a school in Thailand. They admitted being recruited by the woman they were traveling with, who claimed to be the founder and head preacher of their congregation. Officers noted that the alleged trafficker had recently traveled to Thailand, and records showed she had previously left with another group of passengers, whom she claimed were also her church companions but had not returned to the Philippines.
“This case echoes the ‘Bitbit’ scheme, where a frequent traveler, acting as a courier, attempts to transport a group of passengers under false pretenses, while victims are unknowingly coerced into illegal work,” said Viado. The victims were referred to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for assistance.
Meanwhile, the BI also reported the arrest of a South Korean and a German national, both wanted by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) for being fugitives from justice in their respective countries. The BI chief said that the two foreigners were arrested in Angeles City, Pampanga on March 31 in separate operations conducted by operatives from the bureau’s fugitive search unit.
German national Klaus Dieter Boekhoff, 60, was arrested at his residence in Barangay Malabanias, Angeles City. He is wanted for involvement in internet fraud, with a warrant of arrest issued against him by a local court in Bamberg, Germany on December 5 last year for multiple counts of fraud. On the same day, Korean national Ryu Hoijong, 48, was arrested in his home at the Timog Park Homes, Angeles City. He is wanted by authorities in Seoul for larceny, having allegedly stolen a vehicle in 2015 worth 40 million won, registered it to a third party, and later illegally sold it to a buyer.
Both suspects are detained at the BI custodial facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, where they will remain until they are deported. Once deported, they will be placed on the immigration blacklist, effectively banning them from re-entering the country for being undesirable aliens.
