MANILA (September 29) — Three Filipino job seekers filed a criminal case for qualified trafficking against five people accused of running a fraudulent overseas recruitment scam in Cavite.
According to the complainants’ signed affidavits filed with the Department of Justice (DOJ), they were threatened with forced labor and sexual exploitation after being enticed between May and July 2025 with promises of well-paying jobs in Europe.
The victims were initially drawn to employment advertising on a Facebook group called “Nouri International Placement Agency,” which marketed the hiring of domestic helpers abroad. They reacted to the posts in the hopes of improving their lives, and meetings were arranged as a result.
Initial discussions were held at a coffee shop in SM City Bacoor, where two of the respondents, who identified as human resources (HR) employees, were present. The victims were offered a monthly salary of P80,000 in Europe, as well as free board and accommodation.
The suspects showed a portfolio of their purported boss, Adel En Nouri, an Italian national living in London, who they said would perform the last interview.
To secure their deployment slots, the two responses posing as HR officials requested the candidates to pay a P100,000 placement fee, followed by an extra P50,000 for airfare individually.
The scam allegedly ended on July 8, when the victims were told to go to the agency’s office on Sampaguita Street in Queens Row West, Bacoor City, Cavite.
They were set to work right away after learning that the location was a domestic home rather than an office.
According to the complainants, they were compelled to complete office and home tasks or risk losing their job opportunities. The scenario spiraled out of control when they were allegedly compelled to perform sexual acts in front of En Nouri. According to the affidavits, a co-respondent held these performances at gunpoint.
If indicted, En Nouri and the other respondents might face charges under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 for Qualified Trafficking in Persons.
En Nouri has already been the target of several complaints pertaining to human trafficking. On September 7, two Filipina women filed qualifying human trafficking allegations against him, along with a Filipina and a British-Indian person, for coercing them into performing sexual activities for foreigners.
