Navy foils trafficking attempt
Fadli, The Jakarta Post/Batam
Officers from the naval base in Tanjung Balai Karimun, Riau Islands, have foiled an attempt to smuggle two babies into neighboring Singapore.
Naval base commander Lt. Col. Bambang T. Wahyudi told The Jakarta Post on Saturday that the alleged human trafficking of the two weeks-old babies took place on Friday, when Navy personnel in a patrol boat from the Leho naval security post in Tebing district became suspicious after they saw a small motor boat appear out of the mangroves off Tanjung Sebatak.
"The Navy men tried to approach the small boat but it sped away. The patrol boat then chased it and fired a warning shot. After the second warning shot, the small boat slowed down and the two suspected traffickers fled into the mangroves," according to Bambang.
He said that due to the officers unwillingness to chase them through the mangroves the suspects got away.
The crew members, Chief Sgt. Seken D. and Chief Pvt. Hartono discovered the two infants, both about a month old, in a fish container on the boat, said Bambang
"We believe that the babies were going to be sold in Singapore, judging by the route they were trying to take. The case has been handed over to the police for further investigation," he said.
The infants, one boy weighing 4.5 kilograms and one girl of three kilograms, were sent to Bakti Timah hospital on Karimun Island for treatment.
Tanjung Balai Karimun Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Muhammad Jufri confirmed that his office had received the report from the Navy about the baby trafficking attempt.
"We have already found some clues to identify the suspects. We also know where they got the babies from," Jufri explained.
Based on their preliminary investigation, one of the babies was taken from a brothel in Tanjung Balai Karimun, most likely the child of one of the sex workers there.
Jufri said the police had also confiscated the speed boat as evidence.
He also admitted that the number of baby trafficking cases in Riau Islands province had increased dramatically of late.
"The police will make every effort to get to the bottom of this case. Hopefully, the we can find and arrest the people in the syndicate, which is likely behind most of the trafficking. We will try to arrest all the perpetrators in order to identify their network and capture the syndicate's leaders," Jufri vowed.