Indonesian Police Uncover New Networks of Human Traffickers
Jakarta. The Indonesian National Police's criminal investigation unit Bareskrim said on Thursday (21/12) they had uncovered three networks of human traffickers connected to groups in Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and China.
The police arrested seven suspects and managed to rescue 176 victims of human trafficking, most of them women.
These victims were promised work in the three countries but were then sent there illegally.
"In Saudi Arabia, they were promised a monthly salary of $250-$300," Bareskrim Chief Comr. Gen. Ari Dono Sukmanto said at a press conference in Jakarta as quoted by BeritaSatu.com.
The human traffickers sent their victims to Surabaya and Pontianak in Indonesia or Entikong, Miri, Serawak and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia before moving them on to Saudi Arabia, other cities in Malaysia or China.
Police said 152 of the victims were sent to Malaysia and five to China. It was not revealed, apart from those who were also rescued by the police, how many had been sent to Saudi Arabia.
Police captured four suspects, known by their initials M, F, U and R, from the Saudi Arabia group. They also caught WHA from the Malaysia group and S and AY from the China group.
According to Indonesia's 2017 Law on Eradicating Human Trafficking, the suspects face a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail if found guilty.
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