Iranian detained in Bali

Iranian detained in Bali

TUBAN, Bali: Immigration officers have detained an Iranian identified as Seyed Jafar, 35, for entering Indonesia using two passports.

"Jafar, who is now detained at the quarantine cell at the Bali immigration office, was nabbed by the officers at the departure gate of the airport on Saturday," I Gede Widiartha, head of the immigration office, said on Sunday.

Widiartha said Jafar appeared to be in a state of confusion before boarding a plane heading for Tokyo.

During the questioning, it was uncovered that Jafar had two passports -- an Iranian passport under his own name and a Spanish passport under the name of Alonso Gonzales, Widiartha said.

He said that Jafar entered Bali on a Thai Airways flight on Jan. 5 using his own passport, but tried to leave for Tokyo on a Garuda flight using his Spanish passport.

Antara's reported that last year the Bali immigration office detained 18 foreigners attempting to travel from Bali illegally.

The 18 came from South Asian countries, including India and Afghanistan, and Middle East countries, including Iran and Iraq.

"The illegal immigrants mostly try to search for political asylum in Australia due to unfavorable security conditions in their own countries," Widiartha said. -- Antara