TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Police have successfully uncovered a human trafficking syndicate responsible for sending illegal Indonesian migrant workers to Germany. In connection with this case, one suspect, identified by the initials TGS alias Y, has been arrested.
Head of Public Relations for the East Java Regional Police, Grand Commissioner Jules Abraham Abast, stated that the investigation began in March 2025 following a police report concerning the unlawful placement of migrant workers.
"The incident occurred in Wungu District, Madiun Regency, in June 2024," Abast announced in a press release on Saturday, July 26, 2025.
Abast explained that suspect Y recruited and facilitated the illegal placement of three prospective migrant workers in Germany. Each victim was required to pay a sum, specifically Rp23 million, Rp30 million, and Rp40 million, respectively. These amounts were paid by the victims in installments throughout 2024.
Because they were sent illegally, these migrant workers lacked essential documents such as competency or skill certificates and a social security participant number. Consequently, they were not legally protected as migrant workers.
Abast further noted that in February 2025, the police received a report from the Indonesian Embassy in Germany regarding the presence of three Indonesian citizens residing illegally in the country. They had entered Germany on limited tourist visas.
To prolong their stay, they pretended to be asylum seekers at the Suhl Thuringen Refugee Camp. "This was the suspect's method to make it 'more efficient' for the migrant workers to settle in Germany and find work," Abast elaborated.
The suspect in this human trafficking case admitted to the victims that he only offered to send them to Germany without guaranteeing employment. For his actions, TGS alias Y has been charged under Article 81 combined with Article 69 or Article 83 combined with Article 68 combined with Article 5 Letters b, c, d of Law Number 18 of 2017 concerning the Protection of Migrant Workers. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison or a fine of up to Rp15 billion.
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