Pinoys warned of human trafficking schemes to Middle East

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has warned Filipinos about human trafficking scheme luring victims through social media for high-paying jobs in Dubai and Iraq.

Filipinos are reminded to be cautious of persons, manpower agencies or recruitment agencies that carry out their operations using social media such as Facebook, Viber or WhatsApp, offering jobs in Dubai or in any other place.

The warning was issued in light of human trafficking cases being monitored by the Philippine embassy in Baghdad.

A trafficking victim detained in Basra Prison, Iraq for the last three months was finally released for deportation last April 3 and two more Filipinos were rescued by the embassy.

Ten other individuals who were also victims of the same scheme have been in the custody of the embassy since January 2019.

The victims were initially trafficked from Dubai to Iraq from July 4 to Dec. 22, according to their official statements.

Last year, the embassy handled 17 human trafficking cases.

The embassy said trafficking syndicates have been luring victims through social media by offering to advance the cost of their travel to Dubai where high-paying jobs are supposed to be waiting for them.

The victims enter Dubai using tourist visas and are then made to work without pay, supposedly as part of their “training.” 

Once their visas are about to expire, the victims are told to accept jobs in Iraq or pay the syndicates the $3,000 they purportedly spent for their deployment. 

“The victims are trafficked through Erbil in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and then smuggled to Baghdad or Basra,” DFA said.