THE Riau Islands are identified as one of the ‘hot spots’ of human trafficking in Indonesia, said the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD.

Through a post on his Instagram account, he said that the region, especially Batam, is also used by the syndicate as a gateway for smuggling Indonesian migrant workers abroad.

“The human trafficking syndicate and network in Batam is not (participated by those) among ordinary people because it is well coordinated, involving individuals from the government and the private sector,” he said.

Mahfud, who is also the head of the Human Trafficking Prevention and Handling Task Force said that he would take immediate and decisive action.

He was in Batam last week to visit the St. Theresia centre for (trafficking) syndicate victims as well as the Batam International Ferry Terminal.

“The confirmation and the data obtained will be checked,” he said, referring to information on human trafficking activities that have been circulating and has been dismissed as rumours.

The matter will be brought to Jakarta for enforcement, and cooperation with the Indonesian Migrant Worker Protection Agency (BP2MI) and other agencies to combat it.

“This crime is serious because it degrades human dignity in an extraordinary way and is modern slavery, even worse than the slavery of the past,” said Mahfud. – Bernama, April 8, 2023.