14 Afghans arrested in Mataram
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 09/12/2009 3:16 PM
Sailors of the Navy Base in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara have arrested 14 Afghans, who were allegedly going to Australia, the second arrest of illegal immigrants on the area.
“They were intercepted on Friday evening at around 9:30 on East Lombok waters,” Maj. Ali, an operational staff member at the Navy Base, told Antara news agency on Saturday.
Ali said the 14 Afghans were part of a larger immigrant group who were heading to Australia on rented wooden boats.
On Thursday, the sailors also intercepted a boat carrying 56 Afghans on the same area.
The Navy Base have coordinated with local Immigration Office and representative office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to relocate the immigrants.
