Sulu vice mayor held for human trafficking

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – A vice mayor of Sulu, along with a companion, was arrested in an entrapment last Saturday on human trafficking charges, police said yesterday.

Senior Superintendent Edwin de Ocampo, city police chief, said the vice mayor, who was only identified as Kim, was also charged with illegal possession of firearms.

De Ocampo said three would-be victims were promised jobs as entertainers in Malaysia and were asked to pay P8,500 for their fare in going to Taganak Island, the southernmost island of Tawi-Tawi adjacent to Sabah.

The victims were supposed to board a motorized boat at the Baliwasan Seaside here that would take them to Tawi-Tawi.