Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang
Police arrested seven people at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport recently for allegedly sending migrant workers overseas without proper permits.
Airport police chief Sr. Comr. Guntur Setyanto said Tuesday the agents were arrested while arranging departure documents for would-be migrant workers at the airport's international departure terminal between Jan. 25 and Feb. 4.
The seven suspects told police they had planned to send 30 women to the Middle East and Malaysia to work as maids. Most of the women were aged over 40.
Police confiscated 100 passports, 30 tickets, 30 visas and several fake recommendation letters from the suspects. They claimed the letters were issued by the Central Java Agency for the Placement and Protection of Migrant Workers.
"We checked with the agency and it confirmed it never issued the recommendation letters," Guntur said.
He said some of the suspects had been arrested by police in the past for similar crimes.
"We have been watching the suspects since the middle of January," he said.
Guntur said the agents recruited older women from villages in Indramayu, Cianjur and Sukabumi, all in West Java, and charged them between Rp 2.5 million and Rp 4 million for training and to have their documents prepared.
"The suspects tried to send the workers overseas without written contracts between the workers and their would-be employers as required under the 2004 law on the placement and protection of migrant workers," Guntur said.
He said the recruited women did not have insurance, diplomas or relevant skills.
The suspects will be charged for violating articles 102 and 103 of the law on migrant worker protection and will face up to five years in prison.
"The law only allows documented agents to send migrant workers overseas and even this must be carried out under the control of the Manpower Ministry," Guntur said.
Meanwhile, the airport customs and excise office informed police about a smuggling attempt involving weapons sent from Oklahoma in the U.S. on Monday.
Customs officials seized 25 weapons and 400 bullets at the airport's cargo delivery warehouse. They arrested a suspect identified as And from Bandung, West Java, in relation to the smuggling attempt.
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The weapons were reported as being vehicle spare parts on the customs declaration form.
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