Police have again apprehended eight Afghans illegally entering Riau Islands waters, giving the province the dubious distinction of being the most popular route for illegal migrants attempting to reach Australia.
Karimun Police Officers arrested the foreigners Saturday on board a wooden boat coming from Malaysia.
Karimun Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Djoko Rudi told The Jakarta Post on Sunday that the police were investigating two local people believed to be members of a syndicate that smuggled the foreigners.
"They *the smugglers* could face a 15 year jail sentence. We will process it to deter others. We hope that they would no longer commit the crime," Djoko said.
Djoko said police received information from intelligence sources about the coming of the illegal migrants before they arrested the Afghans.
He denied any possible involvement of police officers in the smuggling of the migrants.
According to data from the Riau Islands Police, at least 80 illegal migrants from Afghanistan and Iraq have been arrested since April this year. The migrants use the province as a transit point on their journey to Australia.
Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Anggaria Lopis said the migrants attempt to enter areas such as Batam, Tanjung Pinang and Karimun, as they are close to Malaysia and Singapore.
"But we have no special operation to prevent the illegal migrants from entering the country," Anggaria acknowledged.
However, Anggaria said the police would continue their routine operations, in hopes that it will prevent an influx of illegal migrants from coming to the province.
Meanwhile, provincial administration spokesman Irmansyah said Governor Ismeth Abdullah issued a circular to regents and mayors in Batam, Tanjung Pinang and Karimun to re-count the local population from the lowest neighborhood level on up.
"It's possible that migrants could still entered the province, although police have conducted operations. We urge new comers to report to their neighborhood communities one day after they have arrived here, so we can detect any illegal migrants in the communities," Irmansyah said.
Earlier this month, the police apprehended 60 Afghans and one Iraqi for attempting to enter Indonesia illegally. The migrants reportedly arrived in Malaysia, their first stop, by airplane. Using wooden boats, they planned to go to Australia, via Batam.
Police arrested the group for entering the country without the required documents. But the foreigners said that their documents were seized by a syndicate who helped them get out of their countries.
The migrants are now being detained at the Tanjung Pinang immigration detention center, awaiting an investigation from the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to determine their status.
While waiting for the UNHCR officers, the migrants' daily needs are being met by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
A separate group of Afghans are currently being detained at a shelter in Serang, Banten before they are moved to an immigration detention center in Pontianak, West Kalimantan.
