Yogyakarta, south Indonesia (The Jakarta Post/ANN) - Bantul Police nabbed 34 allegedly illegal immigrants heading to Australia at the Samas Beach in Bantul, Yogyakarta, according to an immigration official.
The immigrants, all from the Middle East, reportedly arrived at the beach at around 5 a.m. in three vehicles that drove them from Jakarta. They allegedly intended to continue their journey using a boat, but it was held up in Cilacap, Central Java, due to bad weather.
The head of the supervision and enforcement division at the Yogyakarta Immigration Office, Fitril Asmawi, said that the immigrants were still being questioned by the police.
"We will handle them afterwards," Fitril said as quoted by tribunnews.com.
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution alleged that the immigrants had asked local fishermen to take them to sea. The fishermen declined the request and filed a report with the police.
"We are still investigating how and where they entered Indonesian territory," he said. "They refuse to tell us where they're from and who helped them."
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