Philippine government warns of trafficking rings in Dubai illegally transporting Filipino workers to Iraq
- Trafficking syndicates lure victims by offering to pay the cost of their travel to the United Arab Emirates, where they are told that high-paying jobs await
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement warning against human trafficking rings operating in Dubai and illegally taking Filipino workers to Iraq.
The alert came after the Philippine embassy in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad rescued two more Filipinos from the southern province of Basra with the help of a local anti-trafficking group.
The Philippine government had previously reported a surge in the number of workers being trafficked into Iraq from Dubai. In August, the Philippine embassy in Baghdad took custody of nine Filipino women, who had been illegally brought into the country from the United Arab Emirates through the Kurdistan Region.
The Philippine News Agency reported that the women were sexually harassed while en route to Baghdad and Basra, an Iraqi port city between Kuwait and Iran.
According to the latest official statement, released last Thursday, trafficking syndicates have lured victims by offering to pay the cost of their travel to Dubai, where they are told that high-paying jobs await them.