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)