17 foreigners stranded in Sambas

PONTIANAK, West Kalimantan: Seventeen aliens identified as fifteen Afghans and two persons of Afghan origin who claimed to be Britons were stranded in the district of Paloh, Sambas regency, West Kalimantan, after being set down from a speedboat on Thursday.

Provincial police spokesman Comr. Suhadi said the foreign nationals had been forced to disembark from a Malaysian speedboat and were later found abandoned by local people in the Paloh port area.

According to Suhadi, they claimed they were bound for Jakarta via Malaysia but had been forced by the crew to quit the boat when they reached Paloh.

Three of the 17 had no passports and claimed that they had left their documents on the boat. Police had difficulty in communicating with them because they did not speak English.

Police are continuing to question the aliens and have contacted their embassies in a bid to determine if they have any connection with separatist movements in Indonesia.

No prohibited goods or contraband were discovered on the foreign nationals. (47)