AT least seven persons, most of them minors, were rescued by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) from an alleged human-trafficking syndicate in an operation in North Harbor, Manila.

Roland Argabioso, chief of the NBI’s Field Operations Division, said two persons were arrested while another is still at large.

Argabioso witheld the names of the victims and the suspects owing to the confidentiality clause in crimes involving human trafficking. The victims—four females and three males, are reportedly aged 16 to 18.

NBI agents are preparing charges for violation of Republic Act 9208, the Antitrafficking in Persons Act of 2003, against the suspects.

Argabioso said the operation was launched after the NBI received information that several minors from Dipolog City were recruited and promised jobs as saleswomen in a department store in Manila.

The informant told NBI officials that the minors were unaware of the modus operandi of the recruiter, who is a known supplier of prostitution houses in Manila.         

The ferry where the recruits were being transported was scheduled to arrive on June 4, at 3 p.m. from Dipolog City. The informant added the minors will be picked up from the port and will be taken to an undisclosed location somewhere in Manila.

The informant disclosed that one of the victims is her cousin, whom she had constant communication with through text messages. The informant claimed that on the morning of June 3, she received a text message from her cousin that she would be arriving in Manila.

When the informant asked her cousin the reason for coming to Manila, her cousin replied that she was recruited by a certain “Inday” to work as a saleswoman in Manila.

The informant said that the names and ages of the victims were changed when tickets were purchased for a trip to Manila, on board M/V Dipolog Princess.

The NBI then set up an operation on June 4 to rescue the trafficked persons and arrest the suspects.

The NBI agents positioned themselves in the area where the passengers would be alighting at Pier 12 of North Harbor.

At 4 a.m. on June 4, one of the victims, the informant’s cousin, was spotted by the NBI going toward a parking area where she was approached by a woman and a man.

The three then proceeded to Moriones Street, where a white van was waiting. The NBI agents then approached and identified themselves. The two suspects were placed under arrest.

Taxis must issue receipts, SC rules

THE Supreme Court (SC) has denied the petition filed by major taxi operators seeking to stop the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) from implementing several memorandum circulars imposing standards and regulations for taxi and mega taxi units, including the issuance of taxi meter receipts.

A KIDNAP for ransom and robbery group allegedly responsible for the abduction of a bank executive last week has been busted with the arrest of its 10 members, including its leader, in a series of operations in Metro Manila, and Nueva Ecija.

THE 125,000-strong National Police will implement on Tuesday a nationwide security and public-safety plan for the opening of classes around the country.

AT least seven persons, most of them minors, were rescued by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) from an alleged human-trafficking syndicate in an operation in North Harbor, Manila.

ZAMBOANGA CITY—A notorious Abu Sayyaf bandit with P500,000 price on his head and one of those allegedly involved in last year’s beheading of a Marine killed in an ambush was arrested by combined police and military forces in Basilan, a police official disclosed Monday.

THE whole Alaminos City, in Pangasinan, has been placed in a state of calamity after Typhoon Cosme wrought damage to property estimated at P238 million, or almost as big as the city’s total budget for 2008.

THE Metro Manila police command has activated a task force to track down the policeman who is suspected of involvement in the killing of two Commission on Elections officials.