JAKARTA: Indonesian authorities have arrested 12 people including a policeman and an immigration officer accused of trafficking 122 people to Cambodia to sell their kidneys, officials said on Thursday.
The suspects were charged with violating Indonesia’s human trafficking law and face a maximum 15 years in prison and a fine of up to 600 million rupiah ($40,040) if convicted.
They were accused of recruiting people from across Indonesia through social media and sending them to Cambodia for kidney transplant surgery, said Hengki Haryadi, director of the criminal investigation unit at Jakarta Police.
The victims were promised 135 million rupiah ($9,009) each.
“The victims agreed to sell their organs because they needed money. Most of them lost their jobs during the pandemic,” Hengki told reporters.
Indonesia is no stranger to human trafficking, mainly for labor and often through debt-based coercion.
In 2019, authorities arrested eight people over what was the country’s biggest-ever human trafficking bust, with about 1,200 victims taken abroad as domestic workers.
Indonesia arrests 12 for human trafficking in illegal organ trade
https://arab.news/8yddj
Indonesia arrests 12 for human trafficking in illegal organ trade
- The suspects were charged with violating Indonesia's human trafficking law
- They were accused of recruiting people from across Indonesia through social media and sending them to Cambodia for kidney transplant surgery
As Europe gets tough on migrants, Crete island sees spike in illegal crossings
- Eastern Libya has become a key launch point for smugglers, undercutting years of EU efforts to curb departures and making Crete a new pressure point
TYMPAKI, Greece: A Heron 2 drone whirs off the tarmac on a new surveillance mission. The aircraft’s sensors scan for boats along the 350-km stretch of sea between Libya and the Greek island of Crete and can detect activity hidden below deck.
Crete, Greece’s largest island, saw a threefold increase in irregular migration last year, becoming the country’s busiest point of entry with about 20,000 arrivals, even as overall irregular migration to Europe fell by 26 percent in 2025 compared with the previous year, according to data from Frontex, the EU’s border agency.
SPEEDREAD
One of Europe’s deadliest migration corridors, where unclaimed bodies often wash up on shore, the passage to Crete is fueled by wars and instability across Africa and is growing busier even as pressure eases on other Mediterranean routes.
As the EU readies tougher measures to combat illegal migration, Frontex says it will focus resources on Crete in an attempt to end the surge in arrivals.
Eastern Libya has become a key launch point for smugglers, undercutting years of EU efforts to curb departures and making Crete a new pressure point.
Many boats leaving Libya are overcrowded and barely seaworthy, attempting a long, exposed journey across the Libyan Sea, leading to tragedies such as a sunken fishing trawler that killed at least 700 in 2023.
Greek authorities recently rescued 20 migrants and recovered four bodies from a vessel in distress south of Crete. Dozens of others are believed missing.
Each rescue underscores the same brutal reality: The crossing is a gamble with lives.
The route to Crete is significantly longer and more perilous than the short trip from Turkiye to nearby Greek islands. It requires larger vessels capable of navigating the open sea for days and a different operational response from Frontex, including bigger patrol boats and expanded aerial surveillance.
