Indonesia Police Bust Syndicate Smuggling Rohingya To Malaysia

By Mohd Iswandi Kasan Anuar

JAKARTA, Feb 22 (Bernama) -- Indonesian police busted a syndicate smuggling ethnic Rohingya refugees from Aceh to Malaysia, which was orchestrated by an ethnic Rohingya man of Myanmar.

According to local media reports, the 24-year-old man was arrested on Feb 6 when he was about to enter a refugee camp at Yayasan Mina Raya Pidie, Aceh.

Pidie Police Chief Imam Asfali said the man admitted to being an agent of a 'big boss' who was in Malaysia to bring out seven refugees.

"An investigation revealed that the individual entered Indonesia illegally on Jan 24 through Dumai, Riau, and has been handed over to Indonesian Immigration for further action," he said.

Before this, the syndicate tried to take refugees from the Lhokseumawe camp in Aceh to Medan to be smuggled to Malaysia with the cooperation of an ethnic Rohingya named Bodu Zaman.

-- BERNAMA