This Rohingya Resident, A TIP Suspect, Apparently Had Been To Aceh Before The Smuggling Of Refugees

The suspect Muhammad Amin (center) was escorted by personnel from the Banda Aceh Police Satreskrim when the human smuggling case was released in Banda Aceh, Aceh, Monday (18/12/2023). (ANTARA/Khalis Surry)

Banda Aceh Police stated that Muhammed Amin (MA), a Rohingya ethnic suspect in the human smuggling (people smuggling) case to Indonesia, had come to Aceh with the Rohingya group as refugees in 2022.

"The suspect actually lived in the Muara Batu refugee camp in 2022, North Aceh, for approximately three or four months," said Banda Aceh Police Chief Kombes Fahmi Irwan Ramli as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, December 18.

Fahmi explained that Muhammed Amin managed to escape from a temporary shelter in North Aceh, to Dumai, Riau. Then also managed to cross into Malaysia to find a job.

"And (Muhammed Amin, ed) worked in Malaysia for about seven months," said Kombes Pol Fahmi.

After working in Malaysia, continued Fahmi, Muhammed Amin then returned to the Cox's Bazar refugee camp, in Bangladesh. Then gathered the Rohingya residents who wanted to leave the evacuation to Indonesia.

"He returned to Cox's Bazar, then gathered these (Rohingya) people, including the children and wives who were brought in and (10/12) yesterday stranded (in Aceh Besar) as many as 137 people," he said.

At the time of the landing, according to the Police Chief, Muhammed Amin and another Rohingya with the initials AH immediately broke away from the Rohingya group. However, then both of them were successfully secured by local residents and handed over to the local police station.

Currently, Muhammed Amin has been named a suspect in the alleged crime of human smuggling into Indonesia by the Banda Aceh Police. He was charged with Article 120 paragraph (1) of Law Number 6 of 2011 concerning Immigration.

The suspect Muhammed Amin is a direct agent who brought the 137 Rohingya ethnic groups, including himself, to Indonesia. Each Rohingya citizen must pay 100-120,000 taka or around Rp. 14-16 million per person as a "ticket".

"So the suspect MA collected (money from Rohingya residents), then deposited it back with Yunus in Bangladesh. So we found it on (video) in the cellphone concerned (Muhammed Amin)," he said.

Being an agent who brought Rohingya to Indonesia, said the Police Chief, the advantage for the suspect Muhammed Amin was that he and his wife and two children were free of charge, to get out of the Cox's Bazar Banglades camp by boarding a ship to Indonesia.

"So the ship (Rohingya) is not free. The ship was bought for 2 million or Rp. 280 million. Where did the money come from, the money was collected to collect and depart for Indonesia," he said.

Until now, apart from Muhammed Amin and several witnesses who are still being held at the Banda Aceh Police Headquarters, other Rohingya ethnic residents who landed at Blang Ulam Hamlet, Lamreh Aceh Besar Village are still in the underground parking lot of Balai Meseuraya Aceh (BMA) in Banda Aceh.

The Rohingya refugees have received various rejections from the people of Aceh after the landing. Starting from residents of Lamreh Aceh Besar, residents in the Scout Camp Pramuka area in Pidie, residents of Ladong Aceh Besar to residents of Kota Baru, Banda Aceh.