Two nabbed over teenager smuggling

BANDUNG, West Java: West Bandung Police here arrested two men for allegedly offering two teenagers as prostitutes to an entertainment spot in Tanjung Balai Karimun Islands in Riau.

The suspects, identified as Kiki, 31, and Agus, 27, were apprehended following reports of two parents who admitted to have lost their daughters, Lisna and Imas, who are in their early 20s.

They said that Agus offered them a job in Kiki's house in Lampung in southern Sumatra, but when they visited them, their daughters had apparently been taken to a discotheque in Riau.

West Bandung Police Chief Supt. John Bachriel said he believed the suspects were part of a syndicate supplying teenage prostitutes.

"Agus who worked in a salon at North Bandung acted as collector who took the teenagers to Lampung. From here, Kiki then took over the job and brought them to Tanjung Karimun," John told reporters on Tuesday.

Lisna and Imas, John said, had been released and are on their way home from Riau.

Kiki admitted to have given the girls money to go to Riau, but denied that he was going to make them work as prostitutes.(25/09)