DMW operatives, in coordination with the NAIA Task Force Against Trafficking and the National Bureau of Investigation, apprehended the suspects during an entrapment operation on May 9.
The suspects, identified as Tomita Takayuki and Maria Zenaida Callos Otani, now face charges for qualified trafficking in persons and large-scale illegal recruitment.
Authorities revealed that the suspects used their fake agency, Winkbayside Manpower Services, to deceive victims with promises of factory jobs in Japan’s Technical Intern Training Program, offering monthly salaries of 120,000 yen.
Upon arrival in Japan, the victims were assigned to multiple employers under false identities and discovered they were severely underpaid, receiving only a fraction of the promised 200,000 yen salary.
The DMW emphasized that the operation aligns with the government’s commitment, under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive, to protect overseas Filipino workers and dismantle illegal recruitment syndicates.
The Migrant Workers Protection Bureau has urged other victims of the suspects to come forward and cooperate with authorities to ensure justice is served.