Tangerang Immigration Secures 129 Used Passport Covers in South Tangerang

The Class I Special Non-TPI Tangerang Immigration Office has secured 129 used passport covers of the Republic of Indonesia and one expired passport, which had earlier gone viral after being found scattered near the BSD Bus Stop on Jalan Letjen Sutopo, South Tangerang. ‘The evidence received consists of 129 used passport covers and one passport that has expired,’ said Head of Tangerang Immigration Office Hasanin in a statement received in Jakarta on Tuesday. Hasanin explained that the case began with information circulating on social media regarding the discovery of a pile of passports in the South Tangerang area. Following up on the matter, the Immigration Intelligence and Enforcement Division (Inteldakim) immediately inspected the location of the incident on Sunday. Although officers no longer found the pile of passports at the site, they discovered two passport covers whose biodata pages and contents were missing, along with a single hajj deposit receipt, Hasanin stated. The Tangerang Immigration Office subsequently coordinated with the Serpong Police on Monday. It was learned that the pile of documents had previously been secured and handed over to the police before finally being transferred to the Immigration Office for further action. Based on an initial examination of the 129 passport covers secured, all were found to no longer have their biodata pages or inner pages. The South Tangerang Hajj Ministry Office is currently conducting an internal investigation to establish the chronology of how the old documents could have slipped out of supervision and ended up scattered on the street. In light of this incident, the Tangerang Immigration Office has urged the local Hajj Ministry office to evaluate the mechanism for returning old passports belonging to hajj pilgrims to prevent a similar occurrence in the future. Immigration authorities also reminded the wider public to always keep their passports safe. As an official state document, a passport must be stored properly and securely by its owner, even if it has expired.