A woman was arrested and six suspected sex trafficking victims, three of them minors, were rescued by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Batangas.
The NBI said that the woman, who was identified only as Azis, was arrested during an entrapment operation conducted by NBI Batangas District Office (NBI- BatDO) last Feb. 18.
After her arrest, Azis was charged before the Batangas City Prosecutor’s Office with violations of Republic Act (RA) 9208, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, as amended.
“The operation stemmed from an information that the Subject was engaged in human trafficking of minors within the province of Batangas, particularly in Lipa City,” the NBI said in a statement.
“The Subject offers male and female victims including minors for sexual exploitation in exchange for a fee ranging from P2,000 to P8,000," it said.
Acting on the information, the bureau said that NBI-BATDO managed to contact Azis and hatched an entrapment operation against her in coordination with Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (DOJ-IACAT), Batangas Office of the City Social Welfare, and NBI Human Trafficking Division (HTRAD).