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)