Some 31 more Filipinos may be victims of human trafficking and were forced into cryptocurrency investment scams in Myanmar, Senator Risa Hontiveros revealed.
Hontiveros said according to one of the 12 victims who were recently rescued from a human trafficking ring said to be based in China and operating in Myanmar, there are 31 other Filipinos who may need to be rescued.
“Based on their estimate, 31 other Filipinos are there in Myanmar and need to be rescued,” she said in an interview over ABS CBN’s TeleRadyo.
Hontiveros last week revealed that Filipinos were being recruited through fake job advertisements and were forced into cryptocurrency investment scams.
The victims were said to be promised jobs in a call centre as customer service representatives, or as data encoders but were instead kidnapped and were then forced to scam foreigners.
The senator claimed the Chinese mafia is planning to establish a team of Filipino scammers in Myanmar.
Hontiveros, however, gave assurance that government agencies including the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Labor and Employment are currently working on addressing the issue.
According to Hontiveros, authorities are now tracking down the alleged recruiter of the 12 rescued Filipinos.
The alleged recruiter is a Filipino who goes by the name of “Len”, she added. — Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
