PCG: 2 human trafficking victims rescued while heading for Malaysia

Two victims of human trafficking were rescued last Feb. 14 as they were about to board a vessel that would take them to Malaysia, the Philippine Coast Guard said Tuesday.

Coast Guard and police teams intercepted the two during a joint boarding inspection aboard the ML Fatima Raiza shortly after it departed Zamboanga City.

While the vessel skippered by Abdulhair Sayad was en route to Taganak in Tawi-Tawi, the Coast Guard and local police noticed the two women (aged 26 and 27) who they believed to be victims ofhuman trafficking.

Coast Guard information showed the two were from Tarlac in Central Luzon and Sampaloc in Manila.

Upon investigation at the police station, the two said they were waiting for water transportation from Taganak bound for Malaysia.

The Taganak police took the two in custody and turned them over to the Tawi-Tawi Police Provincial Office. — Joel Locsin/LBG, GMA News

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