THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) has intercepted four hopeful overseas workers who attempted to e for work as call centers in Cambodia after it was discovered their passports were stamped with fake departure clearance.
BI officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 intercepted a 40-year-old male attempting to board a Cathay Pacific morning flight to Hong Kong. The passenger allegedly presented a passport marked with a dubious immigration departure stamp.
The man admitted that he was offered work by a female recruiter he met on Facebook. The victim alleged that his recruiter demanded P120,000 as processing fee and promised that the victim could bypass Immigration smoothly and without being detected.
Immigration officers also prevented three suspected human trafficking victims who tried to board a Jetstar flight to Singapore, also with suspicious Immigration stamps in their passports.
The travelers claimed to be friends going to Cambodia for leisure, but later admitted they had been recruited to work as call center agents, with a P50,000-salary for a 12-hour shift.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said they believed the victims were recruited to work in scam hubs abroad posing as call centers.
Tansingco expressed concern over the recent interceptions at NAIA, saying that the illegal syndicates offering fake documentation around the airport were back to their nefarious business.
Meanwhile, four Vietnamese who had previously overstayed in the country were barred from entering the country.
They were identified as Truong Quang Than, Bui Van Chi, Ngo Dan Tuong and Nguyen Hoang Minh Huy.
The four arrived on board a Philippine Airlines flight from Hanoi claiming to be tourists.
