Police Cracking Down on Homecomer Smuggling Services

Translator

Non Koresponden

Editor

Petir Garda Bhwana

Kamis, 30 April 2020 13:50 WIB

A police officer wearing a protective face mask controls a vehicle at a highway checkpoint following the government ban of the Indonesian Muslim traditional homecoming mass exodus to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Bekasi, on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, April 24, 2020. On Thursday (April 23), travellers in Bekasi of West Java boarded buses to rush to home before the ban took effect. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Police Force is currently conducting an investigation into homecomer smuggling services that has emerged as a result of the ban on national mudik, or homecoming, ahead of the coming Eid al-Fitr.

“Yes, we are conducting investigations into the alleged (services),” said the Indonesian Police Force Headquarter Chief of the Public Information Bureau, Brigadier General Argo Yuwono, when contacted, on Thursday, April 30, 2020.

As of now, Argo revealed that the Indonesian Police Force have yet to identify any service bureau found to be offering homecomer smuggling services. In spite of this, Argo has informed all ranks of the police force to be ready in handling the service, while enforcing the mudik ban.

“We have informed our officers on the field, so that we can anticipate these modes (of homecoming attempts)," he said.

Information regarding the availability of homecomer smuggling services is currently circulating on Whatsapp and social media. Specifically, the service entails breaking through the police blockade that has been set up at monitoring posts along the tollway and national arterial roads.

Recently, the police force managed to identify a homecomer smuggling attempt, consisting of six want-to-be homecomers hiding in a bus, at the PAM Kedung Waringin Bekasi post.

Director of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police Traffic unit, Senior Commissioner Sambodo Purnomo Yogo, explained that the six individuals reclined the passenger seats in an attempt to hide from the police. However, the attempt was foiled after the police inspected the vehicle.

“We found five individuals who reclined their seats and dimmed the light. We also found an individual in the toilet of the bus,” Sambodo explained, when contacted on Thursday, April 30.

The apprehended individuals explained to the police that they paid Rp250,000 to the driver for the service, in order to go homecoming to Central Java.

For their attempt, the police only recorded their identity, as the individuals and the bus driver were then told to turn their vehicle around to Jakarta.

M JULNIS FIRMANSYAH | DIO SUHENDA (INTERN TRANSLATOR)