Police arrested three people who picked up 10 Rohingya immigrants. The 10 Rohingya immigrants had earlier run away from a temporary shelter at the former immigration office in Lhokseumawe.
Banda Aceh, Aceh (ANTARA) - Police on Thursday arrested three people for allegedly trying to help Rohingya immigrants, who had run away from a temporary shelter in Lhokseumawe, Aceh province, to escape to Malaysia.

Police arrested three people suspected of taking Rohingya immigrants away from the temporary shelter, chief of the Lhokseumawe city police, Adjunct Senior Commissioner Henki Ismanto, said on Thursday.

"Police arrested three people who picked up 10 Rohingya immigrants. The 10 Rohingya immigrants had earlier run away from a temporary shelter at the former immigration office in Lhokseumawe," he informed.

The three people were arrested in Lhokseumawe while driving the Rohingya immigrants to Medan, North Sumatra.

Police also detained the 10 Rohingya immigrants, comprising 8 men and 2 women, he said.

"The three people drove the Rohingya immigrants aboard two minibuses. They were supposed to make a transit in Tanjung Balai, North Sumatra, en route to Malaysia,” he added.

Related news: Aceh: 119 Rohingya refugees relocated to Pekanbaru

At least 23 Rohingya immigrants ran away from the temporary shelter on Tuesday.

The immigrants jumped the wall fence of the temporary shelter to escape, chief of the Lhokseumawe city police, Ismanto, said in Lhokseumawe on Wednesday.

"They were found to have escaped on Tuesday at 12.30 p.m local time (Western Standard Indonesian Time). At that time, security personnel found footprints on the wall fence while conducting a patrol around the temporary shelter," he added.

The escaped immigrants comprised 8 male adults, 4 female adults, and 11 children, he informed.

Meanwhile, the number of Rohingya immigrants who are still at the shelter has reached 206.

"It is believed the escape of the Rohingya immigrants involves a human trafficking network from other region. The network picked up the Rohingya immigrants at the former immigration office and later took them to a certain place," he informed.

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Translator: M.Haris SA, Suharto
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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