Indonesia lifts arrests of people smugglers
Another people smuggler has been arrested by Indonesian police in the most concerted effort in years to catch and lock up those who transport refugees by boat to Australia.
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Alleged Iranian smuggling kingpin Mohammad Hadi, also known as Sayed Ali, was arrested with two accomplices at 2am on Monday in an apartment building in West Jakarta.
His operation was exposed by a tip-off two weeks earlier from a group of refugees caught driving towards the coast of western Java.
His arrest comes about 10 days after one of the country’s biggest people smugglers, Billu, whose real name is Javed Mehmud Bhat, was also arrested. He is alleged to have been behind a boat that sank on June 21 with the loss of 96 people.
Also in recent weeks, Australian citizen Qasem Ali was sentenced to six years in prison for his people smuggling activities. Another kingpin, Sayed Abbas, who operated from an Indonesian prison, awaits a court decision over Australian attempts to extradite him.
The activity suggests that under pressure from the Australian government, Indonesian police are taking the offence of people smuggling more seriously and are cracking down on its practitioners.
“There is more being done at the Indonesian level, and this comes after many years of little activity,” University of Queensland law professor Andreas Schloenhardt said.
Indonesia did not pass laws to criminalise people smuggling until 2011, when Australian pleas to strengthen their laws bore fruit.
Source: http://www.portstephensexaminer.com.au/
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