An international search has been launched for a woman who was allegedly recruited to work in Bahrain by a Filipina drugs kingpin.

The Philippine government and its embassy in Manama are trying to track down Rosalie Pascual, who has not been in contact with her family since last month, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Her relatives claim she was dispatched to Bahrain by Mary Kristina Sergio, who along with her live-in partner Julius Lancanilao is standing trial in the Philippines on charges of illegal recruitment and human trafficking.

Sergio, who surrendered to police in the Philippines on April 28, came into spotlight for recruiting another Filipina Mary Jane Veloso, who is on death row in Indonesia for smuggling 2.6kg of heroin into the country in 2010.

Veloso was scheduled to be executed by firing squad on April 29, but her execution was postponed after Philippine President Benigno Aquino III's last-minute pleas to Indonesia.

A day before Veloso's execution, the family of Pascual claimed their daughter was deployed by the same woman to Bahrain - and said they have not heard from her since.

Manila is now investigating how many other Filipinos were recruited by Sergio.

Filipino news network on Monday quoted the Philippines National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) saying that Sergio visited websites to find out how to smuggle drugs by cutting open geckos and stashing illegal product inside.

“We are aware that the NBI is conducting its investigations regarding this case and also to locate Rosalie Pascual in Bahrain,” a spokesman at the Philippine Embassy in Bahrain told the GDN yesterday (May 12).

“The embassy received information and we are still verifying the reports.”

He said the NBI was also co-ordinating with the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs on the case of the missing Filipina.

A report in the Manila Bulletin quotes Ms Pascual's sister, Daisy de Luna, saying their brother in Saudi Arabia had urged Pascual against travelling to Bahrain.

However, it says Sergio told Pascual that she would have to pay P20,000 (BD168/$442) if she backed out of the arrangement.

It is still unclear what type of job Pascual was supposed to do in Bahrain. - TradeArabia News Service