CAPAS, Tarlac – A team of combined local and foreign police rescued five children and arrested their alleged trafficker on Thursday (June 7) in Barangay Cristo Rey here.
The suspected human trafficker was identifi ed as Marlyn Baptista, 35, who was cornered at her house at Lot 106, Block 5 in the said village in an entrapment operation organized by the police team from the Netherlands, Australia, Sweden and the Philippine National Police – Women and Children Protection Center (PNP-WCPC) and Capas police with the assistance of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the International Justice Mission (IJM).
The entrapment and rescue operation, implemented at around 12 noon on the said day, resulted in the rescue of a six-month old baby.
Two of the rescued children are believed to be the suspect’s own daughters while the three others are of his neighbors.
According to a report, a tip was given to the PNP-WCPC by the FBI, the Dutch National Police and the Australian Federal Police about the suspicious online activities of the suspect and requested for assistance.
An Irish national was earlier arrested where police discovered that the malicious transaction emanated from the Philippines.
The report said the police seized Baptista’s computer tablet, modem and a cellphone which supposedly recorded her transactions with clients, among them foreigners.
The suspect was charged for violating laws against human trafficking (Republic Act No. 10364), child abuse (RA 7610) and cybercrime (RA 10175).
The rescued minor victims were brought to Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Heaven’s Shelter in Quezon City.
