Iranian arrested

Iranian arrested

JAKARTA (JP): Immigration officers have arrested an Iranian
national for his alleged role in a passport counterfeiting
syndicate, an official said on Tuesday.

Tangerang Immigration Office head Dody M. Wibowo said Ibrahim
Mohammadi was arrested on Monday while applying for an Indonesian
passport at Dody's office.

The immigration officers became suspicious after learning that
data given by the Iranian were incorrect.

"Mohammadi gave wrong data. He also has no native Indonesian
characteristics," Dody said in a statement.

He said the saga began when a man named Abdillah visited the
immigration office.

The latter proposed that the immigration officers issue an
Indonesian passport for an Indonesian named Nofan in return for
some money, Dody said.

The officers then said they would issue a passport only if
Abdillah took Nofan to the office, which he later did.

Dody apparently remembered the man claiming to be Nofan as
Mohammadi, who two years ago managed to escape at Soekarno-Hatta
International Airport prior to his deportation after being
arrested in Bali for suspected drug trafficking.

Based on a preliminary investigation, the immigration officers
learned that the Iranian was a former army captain in his country
who arrived here in 1997 on a Turkish passport, Dody said.

During questioning, Dody told the immigration investigators
that he was a member of a syndicate offering fake passports to
people from warring countries.

They sold the counterfeit passports for thousands of dollars
to people who used them to enter another country for a better
life, the officer said.

The nine-month-old Tangerang immigration office has arrested
30 foreigners so far for violating immigration laws. (jun)