BI intercepts suspected trafficking victim carrying fake departure stamp at NAIA

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) have uncovered a strategy allegedly being used by human traffickers for their victims to evade detection at airports.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente on Thursday said a female suspected trafficking victim attempted to slip past the BI departure counter at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport  (NAIA) Terminal 3 on September 10  using a fake departure stamp.
The woman was scheduled to board a flight bound for Dubai when she was spotted by an immigration officer who referred her for secondary inspection to members of the BI's travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU).
During an interview with immigration personnel, the woman said  she was going to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates not as a tourist but to work as a maid at the house of her niece's Arab employer.
"Afterwards, she brought out of her handbag a departure stamp and a stamp pad which she would use to stamp her passport and boarding pass upon reaching the boarding gate and before boarding her flight," Morente said.
According to the BI, the woman was previously offloaded at the Clark International Airport (CIA) after being suspected to be "tourist worker" or an undocumented overseas worker disguised as tourist.
The woman admitted that she was instructed by her recruiters to make another attempt to leave the country and avoid inspection by immigration officers at the NAIA.
She was given the fake departure stamp before she went to the airport.
"Had she succeeded in evading immigration inspection, the airline personnel would have allowed her to board her flight upon seeing the fake stamps in her passport and boarding pass," said BI spokesperson Ma. Antonette Mangrobang.
The victim is now under the custody of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for further investigation.
Morente, on the other hand, ordered the fielding of more BI intelligence agents at the NAIA's departure areas to ensure that no passengers could sneak past the BI counters undetected.  — VVP, GMA News

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