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February 3, 2025 | 11:00 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Directorate of General Criminal Investigation (Ditreskrimum) of the East Nusa Tenggara or NTT Regional Police arrested PT a.k.a. Panji, the main suspect in the human smuggling case of 15 Bangladeshi citizens to Australia. Head of Public Relations of the NTT Regional Police, Senior Commissioner Henry Novika Chandra, said that initially two Indonesian crew members smuggled 41 Bangladeshi citizens in November 2024.
"Using a ship through Indonesian waters to Australia, without official travel documents and without going through immigration checkpoints," said Henry in a written statement on Friday, January 31, 2025.
During the journey, the two Indonesian crew members fled using a speedboat. They left the ship which was then controlled by one of the Bangladeshi citizens.
However, when approaching the waters of Christmas Island, the ship was intercepted by the Australian Border Force (ABF). Finally, 15 of the 41 Bangladeshi citizens were repatriated to Indonesia on a ship piloted by Panji.
Upon arrival in Indonesia, Panji dropped off 15 Bangladeshi nationals at Hena Beach, Kolobolon Village, Lobalain District, Rote Ndao Regency. Then, he fled using the boat.
After investigation and coordination with the Bali Police, the NTT Police's joint human trafficking crime team tracked Panji's whereabouts in Karangasem Regency, Bali. The 39-year-old man was arrested while bargaining for a canoe made by local residents. Panji was taken to the Karangasem Police Criminal Investigation Unit for questioning, then flown to the NTT Police on Friday, January 31, 2025.
"For his actions, the suspect was charged with Article 120 paragraph (1) of Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 6 of 2011 concerning Immigration in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) Ke-1 of the Criminal Code. He faces a minimum prison sentence of 5 years and a maximum of 15 years," said Henry.
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