3 teens rescued; man nabbed in Lapu-Lapu

POLICE rescued three female minors and arrested a 22-year-old man who tried selling them for sex and pushing them into prostitution last Friday in barangay Pajo, Lapu-Lapu City.

The three teenagers, whose age ranges from 16 and 17 and are students, were placed under the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development after their rescue.

Jojo Sanchez, 22, who is known as “Karla” and whom police described as a homosexual, is currently detained at the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office detention cell pending the filing of qualified trafficking in persons charges today at the City Prosecutors Office.

Police said Sanchez, who is from Mandaue City, operates in Lapu-Lapu City.

Chief Insp. Mark Sucalit of the Lapu-Lapu police said an entrapment operation was conducted against “Karla” after Sucalit received reports of Karla’s alleged pimping of girls and women in barangay Pajo.

An undercover policeman using P9,000 bodol money transacted with “Karla” through text messages and demanded to have three teenagers. They agreed to meet on Friday night along Maximo Patalingjug in barangay Pajo.

After “Karla” received the marked and the bodol money, police moved in and arrested “Karla” and rescued the three teenagers.

They were brought to the police station before the teenagers were turned over to the DSWD.

The girls told police that they didn’t know that Karla were pimping them.

They were told that they were just going to a party with some of Karla’s friends.

When police contacted the parents of the girls, they said that they didn’t know that their children were being exploited by Karla.