The Jakarta Post
American nabbed for attempted people smuggling
Wed, March 25, 2009 6:30 PM
An unidentified American was arrested Wednesday attempting to smuggle 47 Chinese residents into Australia via Jakarta, immigration officials said.
"There is an indication that human trafficking is underway, (with people being smuggled) to Australia via Indonesia," Immigration Director Muchdor said, as quoted by state news agency Antara.
The 47 victims included 6 women and 41 men, who arrived in Jakarta onboard a China Airlines flight from Beijing at the end of last year.
They were allegedly duped after responding to a fake advertisement offering work in Australia.
"The victims were made to pay RMB 55,000 (US$8,000) to partake in the selection test. The total amount of money received by the American is said to amount to Rp 5 billion (US$435,000)," Muchdor said.
He added that the Australian Embassy in Jakarta had confirmed that the advertisement was indeed false.
"The 47 people had overstayed their 30-day visas. They were staying at a Tangerang hotel all this while as the American confiscated their passports," Muchdor said.
The Immigration Office, he added, is currently cooperating with the National Police to legally process the suspect.
The suspect, an ethnic Afghan, reportedly holds an American passport issued at the American Embassy in China.
The government, in cooperation with the Chinese Embassy, will send the victims back to Beijing. (amr)
American nabbed for attempted people smuggling
Wed, March 25, 2009 6:30 PM
An unidentified American was arrested Wednesday attempting to smuggle 47 Chinese residents into Australia via Jakarta, immigration officials said.
"There is an indication that human trafficking is underway, (with people being smuggled) to Australia via Indonesia," Immigration Director Muchdor said, as quoted by state news agency Antara.
The 47 victims included 6 women and 41 men, who arrived in Jakarta onboard a China Airlines flight from Beijing at the end of last year.
They were allegedly duped after responding to a fake advertisement offering work in Australia.
"The victims were made to pay RMB 55,000 (US$8,000) to partake in the selection test. The total amount of money received by the American is said to amount to Rp 5 billion (US$435,000)," Muchdor said.
He added that the Australian Embassy in Jakarta had confirmed that the advertisement was indeed false.
"The 47 people had overstayed their 30-day visas. They were staying at a Tangerang hotel all this while as the American confiscated their passports," Muchdor said.
The Immigration Office, he added, is currently cooperating with the National Police to legally process the suspect.
The suspect, an ethnic Afghan, reportedly holds an American passport issued at the American Embassy in China.
The government, in cooperation with the Chinese Embassy, will send the victims back to Beijing. (amr)
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