The Indonesian police have stopped 98 illegal migrant workers from leaving the country between June 1 and June 25, 2025. These individuals were about to travel without proper legal procedures to countries like Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Malaysia, and Cambodia, according to the authorities at Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Tangerang.
The operation was carried out by Subdirectorate III of the Directorate of the Protection of Women and Children and Human Trafficking Eradication (PPE/PPO) of the Indonesian National Police, in collaboration with the Class I Special Immigration Office at Soekarno-Hatta Airport. These efforts are part of Indonesia’s wider fight against human trafficking.
Johanes Fanny Satria Cahya Aprianto, Head of the Immigration Office at the airport, said that the migrant workers were attempting to leave the country illegally. Most of them were pretending to be independent travelers or tourists, or claimed to be visiting relatives or friends who were already working abroad. These tricks were used to avoid government checks.
He explained that many of the migrants were trying to travel to conflict-affected regions, such as Yemen and Saudi Arabia, and to dangerous job environments in Cambodia and Malaysia. These destinations are known for online scam jobs, illegal gambling industries, and unsafe work in restaurants or private homes, especially for women.
Commissioner General Amingga Primastito, who leads the Subdirectorate III of PPE/PPO, stressed that stopping these migrants was an urgent safety issue. “The Middle East is currently in conflict, and it is dangerous for any Indonesian citizen to go there for work without proper support,” he said.
He also highlighted that many people fall into the trap of human trafficking networks that appear friendly and trustworthy. “They are often recruited by neighbors or relatives,” he said. These recruiters are part of hidden syndicates that send Indonesians into unsafe, unprotected, and illegal jobs abroad.
The Indonesian government is now stepping up its preventive actions to protect citizens and reduce cases of TPPO (Tindak Pidana Perdagangan Orang – Human Trafficking Crime). This includes checking travel documents at airports more carefully and conducting investigations into suspicious departures.
The 98 individuals stopped at the airport will now go through a careful assessment to help police identify who recruited them and how the network works. After that, they will be handed over to BP2MI (Badan Pelindungan Pekerja Migran Indonesia), the official Migrant Worker Protection Agency, for repatriation and support.
This operation is part of a larger goal to save Indonesian citizens from abuse, fraud, and unsafe conditions in foreign countries. The authorities hope it will also serve as a warning to human trafficking rings and help reduce the number of victims in the future.