Jakarta. The Indonesian Police announced on Wednesday that their ongoing crackdown on people smuggling networks has resulted in the arrest of 804 suspects and the identification of 2,104 victims since June 5.

These figures were obtained from various operations conducted by the Task Force on the Crime of People Smuggling and several provincial police offices, according to National Police Spokesman Brig. Gen. Ahmad Ramadhan, who spoke to reporters in Jakarta.

Since the establishment of the task force, the police have received 684 reports related to alleged people smuggling. The perpetrators of these crimes often employ deceptive tactics, such as offering positions as ship crew members or domestic workers, or promising lucrative jobs overseas. Additionally, some of the smuggling rings entice their victims into the sex trade.

Brig. Gen. Ahmad Ramadhan noted that among the victims, there were children, but he did not provide specific figures.

During a recent operation in East Kalimantan, a suspect with the initial F was arrested for child trafficking. 

“In this case, F was paid Rp 2 million for trafficking a child. The suspect has been apprehended, and the victim is being held at the East Kalimantan Police headquarters for further investigation,” Ahmad said.

Another operation in West Kalimantan saw the police thwart an attempt to smuggle illegal workers to Malaysia using a car. The vehicle was carrying eight people who were promised jobs in an oil refinery in Malaysia. 

They were trying to enter Malaysia through the land border in Sambas sub-district, the officer said.