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omen and children remain the most vulnerable to human trafficking and forced labor with the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) uncovering more cases where children and women are, again, the primary victims.

 On Monday, Bareskrim’s directorate-general for general crimes revealed two separate cases of illegal transportation of Indonesian workers to Japan and Malaysia. It also uncovered a case of child exploitation on the island of Bali.

National Police general crimes directorate Chief Comr. Umar Surya Fana said recruiters had first trapped victims by pushing them into mounting debts and then forcing them to accept jobs offered by their recruiters.

In some cases, victims were offered promising salaries working abroad, even though they had to pay between Rp 40 million (US$3,065) and Rp 90 million of transportation fees.

Umar said that cases of Indonesians smuggled overseas was made possible with the help of former government officials that managed to maintain network with certain individuals working for state institutions in charge of transporting Indonesians overseas.

“Indonesian women smuggled for sexual exploitation in Malaysia, for example, were recruited by former officers of the PJTKI [Migrant Workers placement agencies],” Umar said.

The officer said that a joint effort by the Indonesian police and their Malaysian counterparts found that 23 Indonesian women from Jakarta and West Java had been trafficked to work as prostitutes in Malaysia after being exploited for around two years.

Each of the women was forced to serve to a minimum of nine visitors per day, for which work they got no payment. They were promised jobs in restaurants in Malaysia before falling into the bitter trap.

“We manage to crack down the trafficking ring after one of the victims, who has been identified by her initial YS, escaped the scene and flew back to Indonesia. She quickly reported to us,” said Umar.

Three persons, one of whom was known to have connection to the immigration office in Jakarta, helped to arrange fake passports for each victim.

Each of the trafficked women had to pay Rp 850,000 for the passport.

Bareskrim also found similar mode of job offers by another recruiters to lure 30 Indonesians to work in Japan.

Each of the workers had to pay between Rp 40 to 90 million with a promise to earn more working at plantation and construction sites in Tokyo. They, however, ended up neglected and homeless there.

Half of the victims have been sent home while the police are searching for the rest with the help of the Indonesian Embassy in Japan.

The police have arrested one person last week for manufacturing electronic visa for visiting and studying for all victims, Bareskrim announced.

“We are further investigating the cases. More people might be implicated in trafficking these Indonesians there,” said Umar.

Cases of forced labor of Indonesians could also be found at home as Bareskrim revealed a third case on Monday of 12 children between 12 and 17 years old being exploited to work in a spa in Bali.

These children, who are natives of Central Java, West Java, East Java, Lampung and Kalimantan, were forced to work at a local spa after borrowing certain amount of money from their recruiters.

The investigation into this case is underway as the police has yet to find a suspect.