Five suspects identified for alleged Human trafficking in Indonesia

Aceh Police have named five suspects for allegedly trafficking Rohingya refugees to Indonesia last June. The suspects were identified as two fishermen from East Aceh regency, a woman from Medan in North Sumatra and two people of Rohingya ethnicity, as revealed by Aceh Police general crimes unit chief Sr. Comr. Sony Sanjaya during a recent press briefing. The two fishermen were tasked with renting a small boat and picking up dozens of refugees from a large ship in the middle of the sea. The vessel initially brought around 900 refugees, the police claimed.

Meanwhile, the female suspect from Medan was paid by the suspects of Rohingya ethnicity to pick up three refugees from a camp in Lhokseumawe, Aceh.

“The refugees were going to be taken to Medan, before being eventually transported to Malaysia,” Sony said. He added that the police were still looking for the two other suspects who allegedly acted as middlemen in the trafficking. In June, three Indonesian fishermen rescued 94 who were believed to be Rohingya refugees from a sinking cargo ship in the waters of North Aceh. They attempted to transport the group to Kuala Tanah Jambo Aye in Seunuddon district in the regency, but their engine was broken.

Source: Jakarta Post