Illegal immigrants number 1,663

JAKARTA: The number of illegal immigrants housed in various facilities throughout Indonesia has reached 1,663, immigration director general Imam Santoso said on Friday.

"Their actual number could be higher than that," Imam said. Most of them live in accommodation provided by the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR).

The existing quarantine facilities (where illegal immigrants are housed) are inadequate. To accommodate illegal immigrants, the government plans to build three quarantine facilities in Sumatra, three in Java, one in Sulawesi and one in East Nusa Tenggara.

Indonesia has become the preferred stopover point for illegal immigrants, mostly coming from the Middle East, en route to Australia.

"Indonesia and Australia have explored cooperation on illegal immigration, knowing that the problem concerns both countries," Imam said.--Antara