A woman was apprehended in Pasay City for allegedly recruiting three individuals to work as farmers in South Korea, the Philippine National Police – Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) reported.
The suspect, identified as “Nenita,” was arrested during an entrapment operation at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 on June 22. She is now facing charges of large-scale illegal recruitment and estafa.
Nahuli po sa entrapment operation ng @CIDG_PNP at @DMWPHL sa NAIA 3 ang isang illegal recruiter kahapon matapos ang sumbong ng 3 biktima. Modus ng illegal recruiter ang pag-recruit ng farm workers para daw sa Jeju Island, South Korea,at tumaga sa mga biktima ng P120,000-P150,000. pic.twitter.com/1WzI76GvXA
— hans leo j. cacdac (@HansLeoCacdac) June 23, 2024
According to the CIDG, the victims were promised jobs as farmers on Jeju Island with a monthly salary of ₱80,000, along with transportation and accommodation. “Due to the good promises, the complainants gave their money as an application fee amounting to ₱430,000,” the CIDG stated.
Despite failing to send the victims abroad, Nenita continued to demand money for their supposed deployment. Authorities discovered that she was not licensed or authorized to recruit workers for overseas employment, as confirmed by the Department of Migrant Workers.
The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Administrator highlighted the incident in a tweet on X, noting that the modus operandi involved recruiting farm workers for Jeju Island and extracting between ₱120,000 to ₱150,000 from each victim.
The arrest was made possible after the victims reported the scheme, prompting CIDG operatives to take action. Nenita is currently held by the CIDG-Anti-Transnational Crimes Unit pending inquest proceedings.
