TIP Case In Garut Promises Victims To Work Looking For Fish In African Waters, 3 Suspects Arrested

Illustration of a large Purse Seeine boat that is not environmentally friendly destroys marine ecosystems. (Between)

GARUT - Police have named three suspects in the alleged criminal act of trafficking in persons (TPPO) in Garut Regency, West Java.

The mode of TIP practice is by opening a place for labor distribution in the shipping sector to fish in foreign waters.

"We managed to uncover the criminal act of trafficking in persons (TPPO) and named three suspects in the case," said Garut Deputy Chief of Police, Kompol Yopy Mulyawan when releasing the case in Garut, Monday, June 19, as reported by Antara.

He explained that the TIP case was revealed based on public reports. The police followed up by visiting PT Raya Mulya Bahari, which distributed migrant workers without legal permits.

The police raided the company's office in Tarogong Kaler District, Wednesday, June 7, 2023, and secured 10 prospective migrant workers who were about to be dispatched abroad.

The three people have been named as TIP suspects with the initials R (41), AS (26), and MF (23).

"Of the three suspects, one person is the owner of the company and two are assistants who take care of administration," he said.

The Deputy Chief of Police revealed that from the results of the preliminary examination, the company used to distribute migrant workers to look for fish on large vessels in Fiji and South Africa waters.

"The company distributes them as crew members in Fiji and South Africa," he said.

Garut Police found a migrant labor distribution company that had been operating since 2017 with victims not only from Garut, but from several other areas, even from outside Java.

The three suspects were charged with Article 10 of the Republic of Indonesia Law Number 21 of 2007 concerning the Eradication of TIP in conjunction with Article 53 of the Republic of Indonesia Law Number 18 of 2017 concerning the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers.

"The threat of a minimum sentence of three years and a maximum of 15 years in prison," said Yopy.