Five rescued from sex traffickers

Three men who were allegedly working as pimps were arrested while five persons including three minors were rescued by police in an entrapment operation in Mandaue City late Monday evening.

The three suspects recruited the rescued persons for sexual exploitation in exchange for cash, Insp. Sheryl Bautista, chief of the Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO)’s Women and Children Protection Desk (WCPD), said.

The entrapment was conducted past 9 p.m. in front of a gasoline station in barangay Cambaro.

The suspects aged 27, 26 and 20, are residents of barangay Looc, Mandaue, police said.

The victims, who are from the same barangay, include two boys aged 13 and 14; a 16-year-old girl and two women aged 21 and 22.

“These pimps were paid by customers in exchange for the sexual services from the rescued persons,” Bautista said in Cebuano.

A pimp reportedly asked P3,000 and another P5,000 from a customer in exchange for sexual services, she added.

Some of the customers were foreigners, Bautista said.

P02 Rochelle Tejay Asok, an operative of the WCPD, said they conducted surveillance operation for five days before the actual entrapment.

After confirming the prostitution activities, Asok said, a police decoy negotiated to get the victims’ services “for a beach outing”.

The pimps opted to bring the victims to a gas station where the payment will be made.

When the decoy gave the P3,000 marked money to the suspects, the policemen moved in and arrested the suspects.

There was no resistance, Asok said.

The operation was assisted by operatives of the MCPO’s Investigation and Detective management Branch (IDMB).

The victims were brought to the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD-7) for proper custody.

The suspects were detained at police station 5 in Mandaue City.

Asok said investigators are preparing charges for violation of Republic Act 9208 or Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 against the suspects.

Asok said the victims were interviewed by social workers to find out what kind of assistance that should be given to them.

Bautista said they will conduct more monitoring to stop the prostitution activities in the city./CORRESPONDENT JHUNNEX NAPALLACAN AND REPORTER JUCELL MARIE P. CUYOS