The Bureau of Immigration (BI) is now investigating the possibility of an inside job in human trafficking incidents in the country after the discovery of an immigration counter allegedly dedicated to “facilitating departure of trafficked individuals.”
Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval said that the supposed connivance between certain corrupt immigration officers and human trafficking groups is a method that has allowed trafficking victims to leave the country without difficulty.
Sandoval revealed that this information came from some victims who were recently brought back from Myanmar, where they had been coerced into working as internet scammers.
The BI spokesperson said that although only a few repatriates have disclosed the scheme, it is a major issue that the agency needs to address.
She said that immigration insiders were able to bypass the current immigration policy of “S-queuing” by directing trafficked workers directly to a specific counter operated by an immigration officer who was colluding with illegal recruiters.
Sandoval reported that over 200 trafficking victims were sent back to their home countries in recent weeks, noting that they departed at different times.
One of the first steps taken by the BI was to study CCTV (close circuit television) at each counter identified by the repatriates to determine who they were and find out how they treated the victims.
All of the officers on duty at the time were part of the investigation.
Sandoval said it is necessary to determine if there is any truth that some immigration personnel are colluding with human trafficking syndicates in the country and that victims are able to get out despite the country’s strict immigration policy.