We are still in the process of investigation."Sukabumi, West Java (ANTARA News) - Sukabumi police have detained six drivers of buses carrying 95 illegal immigrants from Middle East seeking to cross to Australia`s Christmas Island from the Karanghaji coastal town in the regency of Sukabumi West Java.
"For the time being we detain the drivers for questioning about possible offense of human smuggling," Sukabumi police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Asep Edi Suheri told ANTARA news agency on Friday.
Asep said the illegal immigrants came from Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan some of them were women.
He said information from the drivers were important to uncover alleged plan to smuggle people across the sea to the Christmas Island via Sukabumi.
Asep said based on information from the drivers, there was a leader running the alleged human smuggling.
He said he had sent a team after the alleged leader, adding the drivers could be named suspects depending on the result of the investigation.
"We are still in the process of investigation. We hope the leader, who has an important role in the human smuggling could be arrested soon," he said.
He said the 95 illegal immigrants would be sent to the Immigration Office in Sukabumi.
He said police moved after receiving information from local people about many foreigners in that area at Villa Kuda Laut, in Cibangban.
Some or about 15 of them were already on board a vessel tied at the coast of Karanghaji in the village of Pasarbaru.
The boat capsized when they tried to run away to escape arrest, he said.
Police already arrested 80 of the illegal immigrants on the way before they reached the beach area.
Earlier this week police in Siak, Riau, Sumatra, said 20 asylum seekers or illegal immigrants from Afghanistan were detained when they were on their way to southern Sumatra, Lampung.
They were in a bus when police stopped them in the sub-district of Mandau, in the Bengkalis regency on Wednesday, Siak police chief Adj. Sr. Comr Sugeng Putut Wicaksono said.
Sugeng said the bus driver and a spokesman of the illegal immigrants said they wanted to go to Lampung from which they planned to proceed to Australia.
The driver Ardalis and his conductor Siregar were detained for police investigation, he said.
He said the illegal immigrants would be sent to the Immigration Detention House in Pekanbaru , but Ardalis and Siregar would be charged with legal offense.
The two violated immigration law facing a maximum punishment of 5 years in jail, he said.
Currently the Pekanbaru immigrant detention house is already crowded with 125 immigrants from various countries including from Afghanistan.
(Uu.H-ASG/H-YH)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2013
