NTB handles 300 illegal immigrant cases

MATARAM: The Mataram Immigration Office has recorded at least 300 immigrant smuggling cases in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province this year.

The immigrants came from a number of countries, such as Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and were using Indonesia as a transit point before attempting to illegally enter Australia.

“We have handled at least 300 cases with the police. Some of the immigrants were apprehended in waters off Sumbawa and Lombok and some were arrested during their  confinement in Dompu, Bima, West Lombok and East Lombok regencies. A majority of them were Afghans,” Muhammad Adnan, head of supervision at the immigration and enforcement division of Mataram Immigration Office, said in Mataram on Tuesday.

The latest case involved 47 Afghan and Pakistani immigrants who were arrested in East and West Lombok on Dec. 10. NTB Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Raden Sujoko said police had named 11 of the immigrants suspects for falsifying immigration documents. — JP