Law Enforcement Stepped Up On Human Trafficking

Nusa Dua (Antara Bali) - The Indonesian government has decided to step up efforts to crack down on human trafficking because the country is still being used as a transit point by human smugglers and illegal immigrants, according an official.

"We are intensifying law enforcement against human trafficking by involving the State Intelligence Agency, the Attorney General's Office, and the police - all of whom will cooperate and coordinate with each other in order to better tackle human trafficking cases," the foreign ministry's director general for multilateral cooperation, Hasan Kleib, said here on Monday.

During 2000-10, he noted, at least 15,162 illegal immigrants were arrested and 237 motor vessels were seized. Kleib added that the 2009-11 period saw 373 smuggling cases involving 440 adults and 192 children.

"The immigrants and smugglers used Indonesia as a transit country particularly during emergency situations, such as when their boats' engines would fail in Indonesian waters while on way to other countries," he explained.

During the same period, Indonesian authorities arrested 450 human smugglers and registered 134 human trafficking cases at the nation's courts.

Most of the immigrants, coming from Asian nations such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, were arrested while on their way to Australia and New Zealand.(*/DWA/IGT)