West Sumatra Police Arrest 12 Suspects Of Trafficking In Persons

West Sumatra Police Chief Inspector General Suharyono accompanied by Director of General Criminal Investigation Kombes Andry Kurniawan (right) and Head of Public Relations of the West Sumatra Police Kombes Dwi Sulistyawan. (ANTARA/Mario Sofia Nasution)

PADANG - West Sumatra Regional Police revealed 11 cases of trafficking in persons that occurred in 12 districts / cities in the province.

West Sumatra Police Chief Inspector General Suharyono said from the TIP case revealed, there were 12 suspects who have now been detained.

"A total of 24 victims were recorded. A total of 10 of them were in Malaysia, but not all were sent home due to administrative matters," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, June 20.

The Regional Police Chief said that the data collection on TIP victims was carried out from September 24, 2022, until now and his party continues to investigate this case to fully uncover the perpetrator's network.

There were two disclosures of the TIP case in West Pasaman, namely one case handled by the West Pasaman Police and another case handled by the General Criminal Investigation Directorate of the West Sumatra Police.

Then the Padang Police revealed two cases, the Pariaman Police had one case whose status was still being investigated, the Solok Police had one case, the Solok City Police had one case, and the South Solok Police had one case.

Furthermore, the South Coast Police handled one case, the Dharmasraya Police one case, and the Bukittinggi Police also had one case. Kapolda said the perpetrators who were arrested will now be processed and investigated more deeply to uncover the network of the perpetrators.

"The TIPO case is in the form of trade for migrants and is also in the form of sexual exploitation to satisfy mashers," he said.

The motive for the perpetrator is to take economic advantage for personal gain by carrying out economic and sexual exploitation.

"A total of 11 cases have been revealed by the police in West Sumatra. This number is the highest nationally and is the concern of the National Police Chief and the President of the Republic of Indonesia," he continued.

The Kapolda admitted that initially there was a criminal act of trafficking in people in West Sumatra, but after being investigated, it turned out that the case was found.

"In 2022, the West Sumatra Police revealed seven TIP cases and most of them are currently complete or P21," he said.

All perpetrators are charged with Article 4 of the TIP Eradication Law with a penalty of three years imprisonment and a maximum of 15 years and a minimum fine of Rp120 million and a maximum of Rp600 million.