Philippine Human Trafficking Ring Raided... 600 Detained Including Koreans

Some Detained Chinese Show Signs of Torture
Forced Recruitment for Online Scams and Other Crimes Widespread

Philippine police raided an organization suspected of recruiting people through human trafficking and forcing them into online scams and prostitution. Currently, the police have detained about 600 individuals for investigation.

On the 29th (local time), according to AFP, the Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), directly under the president, announced that the police conducted a surprise raid on a building in Manila on the night of the 27th, detaining 598 people of Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Filipino nationalities.

Justice Minister Crispin Remulla stated that interviews are being conducted first to distinguish whether they are suspects or victims. Authorities have requested the Chinese embassy to identify nine individuals who appear to have operated a company with a license from an internet gaming company.

Minister Remulla said, "This is a large-scale organization making huge profits through human trafficking," adding, "We will investigate the cryptocurrency found on-site and computers suspected to have been used in 'Love Scam' fraud."

Some of the detained Chinese showed signs of torture on their bodies. They testified that they were held against their will.

One Chinese individual claimed to have been kidnapped by another Philippine online game operator and sold for 500,000 pesos (about 12 million KRW). Another Chinese person said they were forced to work up to 15 hours a day for a year. The building raided by the police also contained massage rooms, adult products, karaoke rooms, and restaurants.

Meanwhile, in recent times, criminal organizations recruiting people through human trafficking and forcibly mobilizing them for online scams have been rampant in the Southeast Asian region. The Philippine police also rescued over 1,000 foreigners who had been trafficked and forced to work in online casinos in June.

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) pointed out in a report last August that hundreds of thousands of Southeast Asians are forcibly involved in international online crimes.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.