33 immigration violators netted

33 immigration violators netted

JAKARTA (JP): Immigration officers arrested 33 foreigners for
immigration violations in separate raids in the capital in the
past two days, an official said on Monday.

Otong Hasan, an official of the Directorate General of
Immigration, said the foreigners were arrested on Sunday and
Monday at the Pejompongan and Kebon Kacang apartments in Central
Jakarta and the Kelapa Gading housing complex in North Jakarta.

"Most of the foreigners possessed no illegal travel documents
and some of them were busted for overstaying," Otong said in a
statement.

Twenty-five of the foreigners, mostly Africans, were
apprehended at the Pejompongan apartment, three in Kebon Kacang
and the remaining five in Kelapa Gading.

During interrogation, suspects identified themselves as
nationals of Liberia, Mali, Ghana, Angola, Nigeria, Zimbabwe,
Algeria, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Pakistan and India, Otong
said.

He said arrests in Pejompongan were assisted by local
residents, who complained the foreigners were pushing drugs onto
their children.

One of the people was beaten up by residents when he tried to
resist arrest.

Handcuffs were used on some of the foreigners when they
attacked the arresting officers.

All of foreigners are detained at the Salemba detention center
since there is no space at the immigration quarantine facility in
Kalideres, West Jakarta.

On Friday, immigration officers also arrested 22 foreigners in
a series of raids on immigration violators in the Tanah Abang
area and the popular tourist haunt of Jl. Jaksa in Central
Jakarta. (jun)