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6 alleged victims of crypto trafficking rescued in Pampanga

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ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — Six Filipinos on the way to Cambodia and suspected of being recruited by crypto traffickers have been rescued at the Clark International Airport in Pampanga this week, the Bureau of Immigration said.</p><p>In a statement Saturday, the BI said they were able to get hold of the six individuals before their flight last Sunday through Jetstar.</p><p>&quot;They admitted that they will be working in a call center in Cambodia and were recruited through Facebook,&quot; said BI’s travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU) acting head Ann Camille Mina, adding they presented fake return tickets.</p><p>BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the six &quot;gave inconsistent answers during their initial interview &quot;which raised suspicions that they were merely disguised as tourists but their purpose is to work abroad.” </p><p>They also pretended to know each other, but &quot;could not explain how or when,&quot; he added.</p><p>The immigration officer that initially cleared the six has been suspended from her post as an investigation is underway, the agency said.</p><p>Tansingco vowed to go after BI employees involved in trafficking, as well as the recruiters of the six. The agency said there are at least three persons of interest in this case. </p><p>The BI on Friday vowed to reshuffle and cleanse their ranks after authorities discovered that three of their personnel are supposedly involved in human trafficking schemes.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/20/23/bi-to-reshuffle-ranks-after-personnel-tagged-in-human-trafficking">BI to reshuffle, cleanse ranks after finding out 3 personnel involved in human trafficking</a></li></ul><p>Immigration Spokesperson Dana Sandoval said the current probe will cover those inside and outside the bureau, lamenting that their personnel could have direct links to syndicates in Cambodia and other Asian countries that recruited Filipinos for scams.</p><div><strong> WATCH </strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2427529" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

'They admitted that they will be working in a call center in Cambodia and were recruited through Facebook,' said BI’s travel control and enforcement unit acting head Ann Camille Mina.