Passport forgery investigated

Passport forgery investigated

JAKARTA (JP): The Directorate General of Immigration is
currently investigating passport forgery practices allegedly done
by people linked to the exportation of labor to Saudi Arabia, an
official said on Thursday.

Director General M. Mudakir said the passport forgery
practices were uncovered when representatives of 10 labor
exporting companies processed visas for 35 passports at the Saudi
Arabian Embassy recently.

When documents were checked, the embassy employees found there
was conflicting data and photographs of the passport holders, he
said.

"The Saudi Embassy therefore stopped processing the visa
applications and also terminated cooperation agreements with the
labor exporting firms," Mudakir said in a statement made
available to The Jakarta Post.

He explained the following investigation at the special
immigration office showed the data and photos of the passports
had all been changed.

"The change of data and photos was believed to have been done
after the passports were issued by the special immigration
office," he said.

He also believed a certain party used the same integrated
passport processing machine like the ones owned by the
immigration office.

Mudakir said that a thorough investigation was currently being
done. As soon as the illegal practices are uncovered, the law
enforcers were expected to take stern action against perpetrators
in line with existing regulations, he said.(hhr)