JAKARTA: The Immigration Directorate General of the Law and Human Rights Ministry arrested eight Somalia refugees in North Sumatra.
Head of Public Relations and General Affairs of the Directorate Agung Sampurno said it was alleged that those Somalis were about to be smuggled from Malaysia to Indonesia by boats.
The arrest began when the Indonesian Navy conducted a patrol and arrested one unnamed vessel in Bagan Asahan waters.
The captain and the crew of the vessel jumped into the sea and escaped to the nearby mangrove forest. They also took away the documents and passports of those 8 Somalis.
“We suspect they are refugees who currently stay in Malaysia,” Agung said to reporters on Saturday.
He added that based on the data from the United Nations Command (UNCR), as of May 2017 there are around 150,845 refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, while in Indonesia there are around 14,000 refugees.
