Kota Kinabalu: Quick response from BARMM Coast Guard Sea Marshal Unit personnel prevented 10 Filipinos from falling victims to human trafficking in neighbouring Tawi-Tawi
The rescue operation was carried out on Feb. 4 at the wharf of Bongao (capital town of the province), according to the Philippine Coast Guard’s Maritime Security Law Enforcement Command.
The Coast Guard’s Sea Marshal initially discovered two TIP (Traffic in Person) victims while conducting ticket inspection aboard a commercial ferry bound for Bongao, Tawi-Tawi.
A statement released by the enforcement agency said another eight victims were rescued aboard the same vessel after the two, while in custody of the Sea Marshal, revealed that there were other passengers, who like them, were TIP victims.
The TIP victims were supposed to travel to Malaysia from the town of Sitangkai in Tawi-Tawi Province.
All of the rescued TIP victims were turned over to the Bongao Municipal Inter-Agency Committee Against Trafficking for proper disposition. Their identities and point of origin were withheld for security reason.
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