Immigration officials at the Ninoy Aquino Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have foiled another human trafficking operation by preventing the departure of 11 Filipino women suspected of being contract workers disguised as tourists, it was learned Sunday.

Bureau of Immigration (BI)-Airport Operations Division (AOD) chief Ferdinand Sampol also bared the arrest of Slovenian suspected of being a courier for the human trafficking syndicate that recruited the women and facilitated their trip.

The Slovenian, identified as Mitja Pilih, and the victims were about to board a flight to Bangkok, Thailand when they were offloaded by members of the BI’s Migration Compliance and Monitoring Group (MCMG) last July 15.

Sampol said the passengers’ passports and other travel documents were turned over to the justice department’s task force against human trafficking for further investigation and filing of the necessary charges against the foreigner.

He added that the women were barred from leaving after they admitted that they did not pay for their plane tickets although they were travelling supposedly as tourists.