Police Inspector General I Ketut Suardana, BP2MI's Deputy for Placement and Protection for Indonesian Migrant Workers in Europe and the Middle East, said the raid occurred at the Kalibata City Apartment, South Jakarta, where the workers were housed before being sent to Saudi Arabia.
"All of them are women. We prevented their departure to Saudi Arabia," he informed.
A tip from the West Java Indonesian Migrant Worker Protection Office (BP3MI) triggered the operation. The office received a report from one victim's family about the women's planned departure to Saudi Arabia.
"They will go to Saudi Arabia as domestic workers. Six come from West Java, and the other two reside in Tangerang. We will arrange their return to their hometowns," he remarked.
Suardana revealed that the eight women had been residing in the shelter for seven days.
A female suspect was apprehended in connection with this case and handed over to the South Jakarta Police for further investigation.
He said that the police have conducted many raids since the beginning of 2024, adding to the hundreds of raids on illegal worker shelters undertaken by BP2MI last year.
Data from BP2MI showed that over the past four years, 110,641 migrant workers have fallen victim to human trafficking and have been facilitated for return to Indonesia by the agency.
Additionally, BP2MI managed the repatriation of 2,597 deceased Indonesian migrant workers and the return of 3,672 others due to illness.
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Translator: Prisca Triferna V, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Anton Santoso
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