Karanganyar, C Java (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian government successfully prevented the trafficking of 12 Indonesians who were to be employed illegally in Singapore, Friday.

The parties who helped prevent the illegal migration were the National Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Workers (BNP2TKI), the Institute for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (BP3TKI), and the officers from the Indonesian Police Headquarters General Directorate of Criminal Investigation for Supervision of Indonesian Workers (TKI).

They raided and detained the owner of a shelter for Indonesian workers, located in Karangpandan Sub-district, Karanganyar District, Cental Java Province, namely Herman alias Alan, a 54-year-old man from Gerdu Bloro Village in Karanganyar District, along with the 12 potential workers, Thursday night.

"The 12 Indonesian women were being sent abroad as housemaids," Deputy of TKI Placement of BNP2TKI Agusdin Subiantoro revealed.

The potential workers had come from Kediri City, Trenggalek District, East Java Province, Lombok, Magelang City in Cental Java Province, and West Nusa Tenggara. They had been trained to speak English and Chinese for five days at the shelter.

As a former executive employee of the Private Placement of Indonesian Workers, Hermawan had joined hands with authorized agents in the Jakarta Province to recruit Indonesian workers to be sent abroad to Taiwan and Singapore illegally.

The government will conduct further investigation into the case to nab all such agents in Indonesia, who are sending Indonesian workers abroad illegally, Subiantoro affirmed.

The BNP2TKI will also continue efforts to nab agents indulging in human trafficking.

"If the Indonesian workers want to work abroad, then they have to go through proper procedures, based on the recommendations of the local labor offices," he said. (*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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