New tricks: People smugglers use fake passport stamps to dupe officials

NAIA airport

IMMIGRATION officers have uncovered a new passport scam employed by human traffickers.

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It is believed criminal gangs have faked or stolen official stamps in order to get their victims through airport immigration checks.

The discovery came as a young woman was about to board a Cathay Pacific flight for Dubai. After suspicions had been raised, her passport was rechecked and the fake stamps were identified. 

When questioned, the woman admitted that she’d met up with her so-called ‘agent’ in Pasay City to receive the fake departure stamp.

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The woman said she was instructed by the ‘agent’ to stamp her own passport and boarding pass as she had been previously offloaded at the Clark International Airport for the same crime she was caught attempting to do again on Thursday.

Immigration officials said they have deployed more agents to prevent any similar incidents.

The woman was turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for further investigation.

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Concerns that airport officials have been colluding with people traffickers are being investigated.