Police in the Philippines have rescued over 2,700 alleged human trafficking victims during a raid in a Manila suburb. The victims say they were tricked into working for illegal online gambling sites by false ads on social media.

Authorities raided 7 buildings inside a commercial complex in Las Pinas City on Tuesday. They were targeting a cybercrime syndicate and found firearms, documents, and digital evidence of the group's activities.

It was not immediately clear how many suspected leaders of the syndicate were arrested.

More than half of those rescued are Filipinos, while the rest are from at least 17 other countries, including China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. Foreign citizens that police deem to be victims will be sent back to their home countries.

Human trafficking incidents linked to cybercrime groups are on the rise in Southeast Asia.

False ads promising high salaries and good working conditions attract people from around the world. But they are then forced to take part in online scams and work in conditions of near-slavery.