Indonesia arrests 77 illegal Afghan asylum-seekers

2012-01-10 02:36:02 GMT+7 (ICT)

KARAWANG, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- Indonesian authorities on Sunday arrested nearly 80 illegal Afghan immigrants at the rest area of a toll road near Jakarta, officials told a local news agency on Monday.

Officers from the National Police Headquarters made the arrests on Sunday at a rest area on the Jakarta - Cikampek toll road before handing them over to the Karawang Immigration Office, according to the Antara news agency.

Karawang Immigration Office spokesperson Tito Andriano told the news agency that the 77 immigrants were in Indonesia and attempting to reach Australia to seek asylum. They had planned to travel to Surabaya in East Java before taking a boat to Australia.

However, Karawang Immigration Office acting chief Hertjansyah Wirandinata said 17 of the illegal immigrants had managed to escape after being arrested. Other details about the escape were not immediately released.

It is not uncommon for asylum-seeking immigrants to travel through Indonesia in their attempts to reach Australia. In December, at least 95 people were killed and more than 100 people remain missing when an overloaded ship carrying immigrants capsized after being hit by strong waves off Prigi in East Java. The passengers included people from Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkey.

In November, an overloaded vessel carrying an estimated 60 to 100 people sank in bad weather and rough seas off the coast of western Java. Indonesian naval forces rescued at least 47 people, but an unknown number remained missing.

And earlier in November, Indonesian authorities arrested eleven Afghan and Turkish immigrants who were traveling in a vehicle in Ponorogo of East Java. Ponorogo police chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Yudha Gustawan said they were suspected of trying to reach Australia.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-01-10

The police must have been tipped off. How else could they notice a small group of 80 Afghans at a toll road rest area? C'mon, people, you gotta be more discreet than that.

It's a long trip from Afghanistan to Australia. I don't blame them for stopping at a rest area.