Immigration Soetta Airport Thwarts The Smuggling Of Two Indian Citizens Towards Australia

TANGERANG - TPI Soekarno-Hatta Special Class I Immigration Office failed to smuggle 2 Indian Citizens (WN) into Australia. The two suspects had the initials JS (24) and VK (26).

Head of the Special Class I Immigration Office of TPI Soekarno-Hatta, Muhammad Tito Andrianto, said that JS and VK managed to enter Indonesia through Ngurah Rai Airport on March 5, 2023.

They flew to Jakarta and had time to spend the night in the Serpong area on March 6. Furthermore, they tried to continue their flight to Australia using the Garuda Indonesia flight on the Jakarta-Sydney route (GA 712) with fake Australian Visa in the check-in process at the Garuda Indonesia counter at Soekarno Hatta Airport.

"So Indonesia is a transiting country with Australia's final destination. Both entered Indonesia via Ngurah Rai Airport, but we managed to secure it while trying to continue flights to Australia on a GA 712 flight from Jakarta-Sydney from Soekarno-Hatta Airport for using fake Australian Visa," Tito said in his statement, Tuesday, March 28.

Tito explained that the arrest began with a community report received by Soekarno-Hatta Immigration Investigators regarding the JS and VK travel plans.

On that basis, investigators then coordinated with the Airlines Liaison Officer (ALO) in Jakarta until finally obtaining information that the Australian Visa used by JS and VK was fake.

Based on information received by Immigration as well, JS and VK do not work alone, both are controlled from India by other suspects with the initials AL.

"The Navy suspect is the mastermind of a syndicate that has two assistants in Indonesia with the initials SS (WN India) and YG (WN Indonesia) with the task of providing accommodation for JS and VK while in Indonesia including hotels, tickets, and transportation," he said.

The current Immigration officers are coordinating with Indian and Australian authorities for the pursuit of other suspects. "We will also immediately coordinate with Indian and Australian authorities for the pursuit of other suspects," said Silmy Karim, Director General of Immigration.

"This is a human smuggling syndicate involving suspects in India, Indonesia and Australia. For the purposes of deepening and development," he continued

Meanwhile, JS and VK must be held accountable for their actions. Both were charged with Article 120 paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) of the Republic of Indonesia Law Number 6 of 2011 concerning Immigration, with a maximum imprisonment of 15 and a maximum fine of IDR 1.5 billion.