"We conducted an investigation based on a tip-off received on alleged illegal Indonesian workers from NTT (East Nusa Tenggara)," spokesman of Riau Islands Police Senior Commissioner S. Erlangga remarked here on Tuesday.
The illegal workers arrived at Batam aboard a ship and were suspected to continue the journey to Malaysia. They were accommodated by a suspect MS at his house in Nongsa Sub-district, Batam.
On Saturday (June 15) at around 9 p.m. local time, the police's criminal investigation unit conducted a raid and found that none of them possessed legal documents as migrant workers, Erlangga revealed.
MS was taken into police custody for allegedly accepting the 21 illegal workers comprising 15 males and six females.
The police also confiscated a car and two cellular phones.
The suspect is found to have violated article 80, 81, and 83 of Law No. 18 of 2017 on the protection of Indonesian migrant workers that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment, he stated.
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Translator: Yuniati N, Sri Haryati
Editor: Azizah Fitriyanti
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