American nabbed for smuggling 47 Chinese

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 03/25/2009 6:30 PM

An American, JJ, was nabbed on Wednesday for trying to smuggle 47 Chinese residents into Australia via Jakarta, immigration officials said.

"There is indication that human trafficking is underway, (with people being smuggled) to Australia via Indonesia," Immigration Director Muchdor said, as quoted by Antara news.

The 47 victims comprise 6 adult women and 41 men arrived in Jakarta onboard a China Airlines flight from Beijing at the end of last year.

They were allegedly duped after responding to a fake advertisement offering work in Australia.

"The victims were made to pay RMB 55,000 to partake in the selection test. The total amount of money received by JJ is said to amount Rp 5 billion," Muchdor said.

He added that the Australian Embassy in Jakarta had confirmed that the advertisement was indeed false.

"The 47 people had overstayed their 30-day visas. They were staying at a Tangerang hotel all this while while JJ confiscated their passports," Muchdor said.

The Immigration Office, he added, is currently cooperating with the National Police to legally process the suspect.

JJ, an ethnic Afghan, reportedly holds an American passport issued at the American Embassy in China.

The government in cooperation with the Chinese Embassy will send back the victims to Beijing. (amr)