30 UAE-bound Filipinos blocked from boarding flight

Getty Images

As many as 30 Filipinos have been barred from travelling to the UAE from the Philippines.

According to reports, the passengers consisting of 18 women and 12 men, claimed to be going to visit a friend or family member in Dubai.

They were stopped from boarding their flight by the Travel Control and Enforcement Unit after inconsistencies in their statements raised suspicion.

The travellers later admitted that they were going to work, adding that their travel documents were given to them that day by a recruitment handler who had met them outside the airport.

Trafficking charges have been filed against the recruiters.

More from International

  • Qatari PM: Ceasefire talks on Gaza show signs of progress

    Qatar's prime minister said on Sunday that efforts to reach a new ceasefire in Gaza have made some progress but an agreement between Israel and Hamas to end the war remains elusive.

  • More than 700 injured in Iran's explosion

    A huge blast most likely caused by the explosion of chemical materials killed at least 18 people and injured more than 700 on Saturday at Iran's biggest port, Bandar Abbas, Iranian state media reported.

  • UN warns funding cuts threaten vital aid

    The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) have sounded the alarm over severe funding shortfalls that are hindering life-saving humanitarian aid in countries including Nigeria, Burundi, and Colombia.

  • Multiple dead in Vancouver after vehicle plows into street festival

    A number of people were killed and multiple others were injured in Vancouver after a vehicle drove into a crowd at a Filipino street festival in the western Canadian city, police said on Saturday.

  • Rome and the world bid farewell to Pope Francis

    Presidents, royalty and simple mourners bade farewell to Pope Francis on Saturday at a solemn funeral ceremony, where a cardinal appealed for the pontiff's legacy of caring for migrants, the downtrodden and the environment to be kept alive.