Many modus operandi are being used to hoodwink the police, including an ambulance (found carrying homecoming travelers), at the Cikarang 1 (toll gate).
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The police found an ambulance carrying seven Eid al-Fitr holidaymakers during the implementation of no-homecoming trip operations at the Cikarang 1 toll gate in West Java on Friday.

"Many modus operandi are being used to hoodwink the police, including an ambulance (found carrying homecoming travelers), at the Cikarang 1 (toll gate)," Chief of the Public Relations Section at the Jakarta Metropolitan Police Senior Commissioner Yusri Yunus stated on Friday.

The police found seven passengers aboard the ambulance during checking at the toll gate.

The passengers maintained that they had hitched a ride on the ambulance since they intended to visit their sick relatives and attend the funeral of their relatives.

"They said their relatives were sick and died. However, when the police inquired about the certificate of the antigen rapid test, they were unable to present it," he remarked.

This is one of the modus operandi mostly deployed to hoodwink the police since ambulances are exempt from the homecoming travel ban, he pointed out.

"The ambulance, carrying seven people aboard, was turned back to Jakarta," he remarked.

The homecoming travel ban, effective till May 17, 2021, was imposed at 381 checkpoints spanning from Lampung Province to Bali Province.

The ban applies to not merely private cars and buses but also to other types of passenger cars.

The COVID-19 Handling Task Force has issued Circular Number 13 of 2021 on the homecoming travel ban to stem virus transmission during the Eid al-Fitr celebrations.

The ban excludes logistics distribution service vehicles and travelers looking to travel urgently for non-homecoming purposes, specifically for work or business, to visit sick family members, or to attend funerals of family members. Pregnant women are allowed to be accompanied by one family member and for childbirth purposes, accompanied by a maximum of two people, as per the circular.

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Translator: Fianda Sjofjan R/Suharto
Editor: Sri Haryati
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