Japanese man held for human trafficking

MANILA, Philippines - A Japanese man was arrested after he was caught escorting a Filipina teen at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 on Friday afternoon.

Immigration officers detained Aiko Watanabe and the 18-year-old Filipina after they found that the teen held a passport with a fake Japanese name, the Aviation Security Group reported yesterday.

The two were about to leave for Nagoya.

The teenager told investigators she really wanted to work in Japan, pleading poverty.

Watanabe and the girl were turned over to Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking personnel and later transferred to the National Bureau of Investigation at NAIA for proper investigation and disposition.

In February, two women suspected to be victims of human trafficking were barred from leaving the country.

Their alleged illegal recruiters, one of them a NAIA employee, were arrested by airport authorities.