THIRTY-THREE ILLEGAL AFGHAN IMMIGRANTS STRANDED IN RUPAT ISLAND

Pekanbaru, Indonesia, June 10 (ANTARA) - Thirty-three illegal Afghan immigrants were recently found stranded on Rupat Island in Bengakalis, Riau, where they had apparently been left in the lurch by the people who had transported them from Malaysia.

Bengkalis' police chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Marudut Hutabarat told ANTARA here on Wednesday the illegal immigrants were discovered by local fishermen on the beach of Titi Akar village.

"They probably came from Malaysia aboard a wooden boat and were dropped off on Rupat Island by the boat's crew," he said.

Marudut said the police had detained all the immigrants and were now still processing their identities.

He said the police would hand over the case to the local immigration office in Dumai.

He admitted that Riau had become one of the entry points for illegal immigrants from Afghanistan who usually used wooden boats to enter from Malaysia.

At the end of May 19 illegal immigrants were killed and another one went missing after their boat capsized in the waters in the Rokan Hilir district, Riau.

The head of the immigration office in Dumai, Icom Siregar, said the 33 illegal immigrants who were all male had arrived in Dumai.

He said the immigration office would send them to Bagan Siapiapi, Rokan Hilir, because an official from the International Organization of Migrants was there right now to settle the case of an illegal immigrant from Afghanistan who had died from downing.

"The illegal immigrants were directly sent to Rokan Hilir for data recording while their further handling would be done after checking by the IOM," he said. ***