JAKARTA: Police have arrested an employee of the Batam Free Zone Authority (BP Batam) for alleged involvement in a human trafficking scheme, after earlier rescuing two women who were about to leave illegally for Singapore.

The 50-year-old employee, identified only by the initials RS, was arrested alongside another suspect identified only as MN, 54, at Batam Center Harbor Bay on 31 October.

Riau Islands police chief Comr Dony Alexander said police received a message that two women, identified only as LF, 37, from East Java and TH, 24, from West Nusa Tenggara were on way to leave Batam for Singapore as illegal migrant workers. .

“Based on the report, personnel from Sub-Division IV of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Riau Islands Police conducted a series of investigations to find out whether a crime had taken place,” Dony said on Monday (Nov 18), Antara reported.

He said the police managed to rescue the two victims by 1pm on October 31 and on the same day the police also arrested the suspects, RS and MN.

Police seized evidence from the suspects, including two passports, two ferry boarding passes, two ferry tickets, three mobile phones, a savings account book and an ATM card.

Donny said police are still investigating the case for the possibility of other suspects or the involvement of a human trafficking ring. He said the police had also handed over the two women to the Riau Islands Women and Children Protection Agency to help them return to their hometowns.

RS and MN were charged under Article 4 of the Trafficking in Persons Act 2007 and Article 81 of the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers Act 2017. Separately, BP Batam spokesperson Sazani said the body had expressed regret that one of his employees had been involved in a trafficking scheme.

“BP Batam fully supports the police in enforcing the law so that similar incidents will not happen in the future,” Sazani said on Monday, kompas.com reported.

Batam’s location on the country’s maritime border with Singapore makes it a gateway for people-trafficking, and in August this year a woman was arrested for allegedly sending illegal migrants to Cambodia to work as online gambling operators .

Police in Batam arrested the suspect, identified only as JW, on August 28 when she was about to hand over two tickets to Malaysia to alleged victims of human trafficking.

Police had previously received a tip that the victims were scheduled to meet JW at Mega Mall Batam Centre, near Batam Center Harbor Bay. – The Jakarta Post/ANN