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)