Jakarta, IO – Foreign Ministry (Kemlu) repatriated 30 Indonesian citizens suspected of being victims of human trafficking in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Their repatriation was successfully carried out in early April with the assistance of Indonesian authorities and representatives in Vietnam, the Citizen Protection Directorates and the National Police Criminal Investigation Bureau (Bareskrim).
The victims consisted of 29 men and one woman. They were promised high-paying jobs in Vietnam. But it turned out they were told to commit fraud under the guise of call center workers who represented Indonesian institutions.
They fled the accomodation and went to the Indonesian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City on March 12. They did not have their passports and cell phones as they were kept by their employer.
Read: KPK: Sum of bribery at Railways Directorate reaches Rp14.5b
After the document verification process was completed and permission from the local authorities were obtained, all of them returned home safely on April 2. They were then provided with rehabilitation and counseling at the Bambu Apus Trauma Recovery Center (RPTC), Jakarta. On April 10, they were returned to their respective hometowns. (un)