Human Trafficking and Smuggling News

DHS Open Source Enterprise 

Daily Human Trafficking and Smuggling Report  

13 July 2011 

• Enforcement Is Next Challenge After Virginia Human Trafficking Bill Becomes Law:  

This spring Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell signed into law several measures to provide new protections agains human trafficking and more severe punishment for those who engage in it.  Before the introduction of the legislation, many people didn't realize how prevalent the crime is, especially in Northern Virginia.  The challenge now that the bill has become law is recognizing human trafficking and taking action when it occurs.  The nation's human trafficking watchdog is the Polaris Project in Washington, D.C. CEO Bradley Miles says Americans find it hard to believe that such crimes exist here. … He says all forms of this modern day slavery are very prevalent in the greater D.C. region, in part because Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia converge in an area with varying law enforcement policies … it's where criminals prey on unsuspecting foreign nationals.  [HSEC-3.6; Date: 12 July 2011;

 Source: http://wamu.org/news/11/07/12/enforcement_is_next_challenge_after_virginia_human_trafficking_bill_beco 

mes_law.php]  

• 3 Girls Rescued From Cybersex [Philippines]:  

Nine-year-old Mimi went looking for her mother Tuesday afternoon after her 65-year-old grandmother summoned them for lunch.  They never managed to share that meal.  The fourth grader was one of three minors rescued by authorities from an alleged cybersex den in Cordova town.  The other girls are 12 and 17, police said.  Mimi's 31-year-old mother was also arrested along with two other women, aged 25 and 29. … Superintendent Rodolfo Albotra said they caught Mimi and the other children doing "lewd acts" in front of a computer-mounted camera.  Albotra, chief of the Provincial Intelligence Branch (PIB) of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO), said the arrested women were in the same room with the minors.  The house was under surveillance for two months after the police were informed that its owner is involved in an illegal online business, said Albotra. … PIB Deputy Chief Mark Sucalit, in a phone interview, said an informant told him that the minors were paid a minimum of US$50 or around P2,156.  It wasn't clear if that fee was per week or per month.  [HSEC-3.10; Date: 13 July 2011;

Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2011/07/13/3-girls-rescued-cybersex-166508]  

• Eight More Laborers Languish In Chennai [India]:  The alleged detention of at least eight laborers from Nilagiri area of Balasore district by a private firm owner in Chennai has once again exposed the untold miseries of migrant and bonded laborers outside the State.  The incident came to the fore after two of the 10 laborers lured by a labor contractor managed to escape and reached home on Sunday.  The laborers from Kathagochhi, Salabani and Hatiasila villages have allegedly been detained and forced to work without pay for the last six months. … According to the allegation, one person of Ranital area in Bhadrak district who works as a contractor in Chennai had engaged the laborers in a private firm with a promise of Rs 6,000[$134] a month.  Their plight worsened when they were forced to work for over 12 hours without any pay. The laborers who have escaped said the contractor had already taken money from the company and they were working there without any remuneration.  [HSEC-3.10; Date: 11 June 2011; 

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/eight-more-labourers-languish-in-chennai/166623-60-117.html]   

• Cabinet For Death Penalty To Traffickers [Bangladesh]:  The cabinet on Monday approved the draft of human trafficking prevention law in principle incorporating a provision for death penalty to the traffickers if the charge is proved.  The approval of draft 'The Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act- 2011' came at a regular meeting of the cabinet.  Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the meeting. … "If found guilty, one can be awarded life imprisonment with a fine of Tk 5 lakh [$6,721].  As highest 

punishment, one would be awarded death penalty," he said.  [HSEC-3.9; Date: 11 July 2011; 

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=30827]  

• Singapore Drafting Action Plan Against Sex & Labour Trafficking:  Singapore is currently drafting a National Plan of Action for the country to tackle both sex and labour trafficking.  It is also studying the possibility of future accession to the United Nations Trafficking in Persons Protocol.  These points were made by Singapore's Inter-Agency Taskforce on Trafficking in Persons in response to the announcement that Singapore was upgraded to "Tier 2" from "Tier 2 Watchlist" in the recent US Trafficking in Persons Report 2011.  The taskforce said that as Singapore grows as a hub for travel, tourism and economic activity, it expects to become an increasingly attractive potential destination for human trafficking syndicates.  [HSEC-3.9; Date: 12 July 2011; 

Source: 

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1140511/1/.html]