Tegalbuleud Police Station successfully captured 28 Foreign Nationals who were stranded in the waters of Muara Cikaso, Kesik Urug, Tegalbuleud, Sukabumi Regency, West Java, on Saturday (29/06/2024). In addition, 2 Indonesian boat captains were also successfully captured.
They were captured after the speedboat they were on docked at Muara Cikaso and was seen by local residents.
The Head of Public Relations of Sukabumi Police, Iptu Aah Saepulrohman, said that the preliminary suspicion is that they are job seekers who became illegal immigrants and entered Australia illegally through Indonesian waters.
“After being secured by the Tegalbuleud Police Station, the 28 foreign nationals and 2 Indonesians were transferred to the Sukabumi Police Headquarters for further examination,” he said.
Based on preliminary investigations, the 2 Indonesian boat captains who were also captured were tasked with escorting the 28 foreign nationals through Indonesian waters to Australia.
“They are Dahlan (28 years old) from Naru Barat Village, Safe District, Bima Regency, and Mohammad Agus (47) from Lambung Mangkurat Village, Samarinda District, Samarinda City,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the 28 foreign nationals who were attempting to enter Australia illegally through Indonesian waters consisted of 23 Bangladeshis, 4 individuals from China, and 1 person from India.
“According to the 2 boat captains, about 17 days ago they started their journey from the Cilacap area, Central Java, to Australia at the request of a resident of Cilacap,” he revealed.
After a 5-day sea journey from Cilacap, they successfully arrived in the waters of Christmas Island, Australia. However, their arrival was detected by Australian National Patrol Officers. They were then captured and transferred to an Australian National Patrol Boat.
“After the boat captains and passengers (28 foreign nationals) were transferred, the wooden boat along with its equipment was sunk by the Australian authorities,” Aah Saepulrohman said.
The two boat captains along with the 28 foreign nationals were then detained for 11 days on the Patrol Boat. On Saturday (29/06/2024) at 05.00 AM, the boat captains and foreign nationals were released and instructed to return to Indonesian waters with a Speedboat provided to them.
“The Speedboat they were on stranded in the waters of Tegalbuleud at around 2:00 PM,” he said.
After arriving on land in Tegalbuleud, they attempted to escape and hide, but eventually around 4:00 PM, the 2 boat captains along with the 28 Foreign Nationals were successfully captured.
“We are still conducting data collection and investigation on this case, and we will coordinate with the Immigration authorities,” said Aah. (*)
