Illegal Afghans escape from Pekanbaru detention center

Pekanbaru policemen are hunting for seven illegal Afghan migrants who have escaped from Pekanbaru Immigration Detention Center by taking advantage of the weak security system.

Head of the center Yanizur said on Tuesday that eleven migrants managed to flee from the center yesterday night by climbing over the office's back walls.

“The immigrants were removed from Dumai, Bengkulu, Medan and Dompu. We were able to recapture seven of them thanks to residents' reports around Rudinem,” Yanizur said.

He added that officers had known about the escape one hour after the incident occurred.

“Some of the immigrants could not stand the center and wanted to be deported to their hometown. But some of them wanted to be removed to other third countries,” he said.

He said that his office had asked for Pekanbaru policemen to hunt for the immigrants but to no avail so far.

“Meanwhile, I have sent a request demanding no more immigrants be sent to the center as it is operating at over its capacity,” he said.