80 Filipinas Rescued from Traffickers who were Planning to Send Some to Lebanon

Philippine police have rescued 80 Filipino women from a suspected human trafficking syndicate that was planning to send them to be maids in Malaysia and the Middle East, including Lebanon.

Police Superintendent Celso Bael said they stopped the women, who pretended to be tourists, from boarding a chartered flight from the southern city of Zamboanga to Malaysia on Thursday.

He said that, from Malaysia, some would have been sent to Libya, Lebanon and Egypt.

The women were recruited from the Philippine capital and nine provinces around the country, he said. They have been brought to the Social Welfare Department for counseling.

Few employment opportunities at home have forced millions of Filipinos to find work abroad, even in dangerous areas.(AP-Naharnet)