TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The immigration office at Soekarno–Hatta airport has prevented 30 Indonesian citizens from leaving abroad.
The immigration suspected that they would work illegally abroad.
Head of Public Relations Division and General Affairs of the Immigration Directorate General Agung Sampurno said the immigration prevented 16 residents from leave for Doha, Qatar, on Sunday (12/2) morning.
"We prevented them from going abroad because they did not explain clearly and firmly their attention of travelling to the Middle East,” said Agung on Sunday.
Most of them are from West Java and one of them was from Sumbawa and They planned to fly to Doha on Qatar Airways at 07:45.
Previously, the immigration also prevented 11 Indonesian citizens from leaving for Malaysia. They planned to fly to Malaysia on Saturday (11/2) on AirAsia Ak387 at 20:50.
Only 1 hour after the immigration prevented those 11 Indonesian citizens from leaving, the immigration office also prevented 3 Indonesian citizens from East Java who planned to leave for Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Ethihad Airways.
Agung added that when asked, those people could not explain why they left for the UAE.
"This condition makes them prone to become victims of human trafficking crime and exploitation overseas,” he said.
This prevention, he said, is part of the protection measure.
"This measure is expected to prevent those Indonesian migrant workers from having problems and to give protection to Indonesian citizens who are going to work abroad,” Agung said.
EGI ADYATAMA
