The Jakarta Post
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsRiau Police prevent departure of 10 illegal migrant workers to Malaysia
Police have prevented a group of 10 Meranti Islands residents from departing on tourist visas for migrant jobs in Malaysia and arrested their "agent" on various charges.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Set as preferred source
A member of a joint security team (center rear, crouching) talks to five people in a room at the Amira Wisma Dumai hotel in Riau on Dec. 12, 2025, as two colleagues (in doorway) look on, during an operation to prevent their departure to jobs in Cambodia via Malaysia, allegedly organized by a human trafficking syndicate. (Courtesy of BP3MI Riau/-)
T
he Riau Police’s water and air unit (Polairud) has prevented 10 prospective migrant workers from departing on tourist visas via Meranti Islands regency to Malaysia, where they had been promised jobs at a watermelon orchard.
The unit’s director, Sr. Comr. Apri Fajar Hermanto, said the individuals’ passports were stamped with 30-day tourism visas to prevent their detection as illegal migrant workers. The plan, however, was thwarted by his officers at Tanjung Harapan Port in Selatpanjang, the island regency’s capital.
“We arrested a man identified as IS, who was the agent and [arranged] the departures of the illegal migrant workers,” Fajar said on Sept. 8.
The Riau Police uncovered the plan exactly a week ago, based on a public tipoff received at 8 a.m. on Sept. 1, deploying officers from its water and air unit to conduct close surveillance in the port area.
Around 30 minutes later, the officers located the group at the port, where a “coordinator” was distributing passports and tickets for the fast boat MV Transjet, according to Fajar.
“The officers immediately detained all members of the group for further investigation,” he said.
Fajar added that arrangements had been made for the 10 individuals to work at a Malaysian watermelon orchard without following the proper procedures for migrant workers.
