Philippines rescues over 1,000 trafficking victims

Philippine authorities have rescued over a thousand people from several Asian nations who were trafficked into the country, held captive and forced to run online scams, an official said Saturday.

International alarm has grown in recent months over internet scams in the region often staffed by trafficking victims tricked or coerced into promoting bogus crypto investments.

Michelle Sabino, a spokeswoman for the Philippine national police force's anti-cybercrime group, said officers raided a cluster of buildings Thursday in Mabalacat city about 90 kilometres north of Manila.

A total of 1,090 people were rescued who had been recruited to run online scams.

Sabino said the victims were forced to target unsuspecting people in the United States, Europe and Canada.

Their passports were confiscated and they were made to work up to 18 hours a day, with salary deductions for interacting with colleagues or taking extended breaks.

"You're like a prisoner without a cell. You're not even allowed to talk to your roommates," Sabino told AFP.

"They're not allowed to leave outside the bounds of the gate. After 18 hours of work, they're brought to their dormitory."

The victims were mostly Chinese nationals, Vietnamese, Filipinos and Indonesians, police said in a separate statement.