Sat, 24 Jun 2000

Two illegal immigrants nabbed

BOGOR (JP): Immigration officials here detained two foreigners for not having proper travel documents when they were attempting to obtain Indonesian passports.

"We caught Iraqi Radhi Damad Omnan and Jordanian Abdel Hado Wannas Jaber Bais on Wednesday when they came to our office in an bold attempt to get Indonesian passports," head of the supervision and operational section at Bogor Immigration Office, M. Yusron, said on Friday.

"They came with fake temporary Indonesian ID cards (KTPs) from Cipayung Girang village in Megamendung to apply for passports," he added.

He said Radhi had admitted he was a retired Iraqi public servant while Abdel said he was a garment trader.

Yusron said his officers arrested the foreigners by saying that they had to go through an interview session to get the passports.

"They admitted they lived in Indonesia and said their passports were being kept at Hotel Karya in Central Jakarta," Yusron said.

"But we found out later that the hotel didn't have their passports. They must have entered Indonesia illegally without proper passports," he added.

The immigration office has contacted the Iraqi and Jordanian embassies in Jakarta to arrange the two men's deportation. (21/nvn)