Portuguese reporters deported

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: Three Portuguese reporters arrested by police for illegally entering East Nusa Tenggara from East Timor were deported to East Timor on Saturday.

The three reporters from SIC Television, identified as Faria Fernando Jorge Castro, 28, De Oliveira Ferreira, 29, and Stoffel Pereira Countinho, 25, were apprehended in the North Timor Tengah town of Mota Ain, which is adjacent to East Timor, the head of the local immigration office, Gatot Suharyono, said.

"They were apprehended as they were interviewing an East Timorese figure living in East Nusa Tenggara," Gatot was quoted by Antara as saying.

He said the three entered Mota Ain from Dili, the capital of East Timor, on Feb. 2 without asking permission from the local immigration office, although they possessed a visa from the Indonesian consulate in Darwin, Australia. (jun)