Taman Rasuna human trade ring smashed

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 08/04/2007 12:35 PM  |  Jakarta

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A police task force has busted a human trafficking syndicate based in the Taman Rasuna housing complex, South Jakarta, police revealed Thursday.

The police arrested six men in different locations in Jakarta on Tuesday. The men, identified as RT, RK, AM, IR, DW and DN are believed to be the masterminds of the trafficking ring.

Task force head Sr. Comr. Anton Carlian said that the team got a tip-off a week ago.

""We are still questioning the suspects because we believe that this activity is related to an international trafficking syndicate,"" he said.

The newly established human trafficking team, comprising the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry and the National Police Headquarters, aims to address the plight of Indonesian workers overseas, among other goals.

Indonesian migrant workers often face hardships and even death seeking work abroad. Some, lacking awareness of government regulations, end up failing to reach their intended destination countries, falling into the hands of human trafficking syndicates.

Along with the suspects, police questioned 18 workers, five of them under age, who were ready to migrate to Syria via Jordan. Police confiscated 382 passports.

Anton said Syria was excluded from the official list of destination countries for Indonesian migrant workers because the government had no diplomatic ties with the country.

""That is why (the syndicate) usually sends workers to Syria through Jordan first. Up to now, they have already sent more than 35,000 workers to the country,"" he said.

Millions of Indonesians currently work in Middle Eastern countries such as Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

Indonesia was classified as a Tier 2 nation in the 2007 U.S. Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report, meaning Indonesia is considered to be a country that does has fully complied with the minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking, but has made significant efforts to do so.

The body analyzed the situation in more than 150 countries around the world in its efforts to eradicate human trafficking.

According to Anton, the suspects arrested Tuesday had violated the 2007 Law on the Eradication of Human Trafficking and could face 10-year jail terms.

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