Indonesian Police Arrest Afghan Refugee for Fencing Stolen Laptop

TANGERANG, KOMPAS.com – Police at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten Province have arrested an Afghan refugee for his alleged involvement in an electronics theft ring.

Airport police precinct head Police Chief Commissioner Adi Ferdian announced that the 26-year-old Afghan national, who was only identified as ZR, and his accomplices ZN and LI were arrested on two separate operations in December 23 and Christmas Day.

“We arrested ZR in Makassar, South Sulawesi, while ZN and LI were nabbed in their hometown Batam, Riau Province,” he said on Wednesday, December 30.

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“LI and ZN stole a laptop from a man on Terminal 3, then sold it to ZR through Facebook, as he was a fencer for laptops and other electronic appliances on the social media platform. However, we arrested him before he could sell the computer.”

Adi did not elaborate about whether ZR also fenced smartphones, tablets and laptops, or how long he ran his racket on Facebook or other social media.

Adi’s deputy, Police Commissioner Ahmad Alexander, said, “We found out about ZR’s status as an asylum seeker, and so are coordinating his case with the Afghan Embassy in Jakarta. However, his status as an asylum seeker does not keep us from legally processing his case.”

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Ahmad added that ZR was registered as an asylum seeker on the UN High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) website www.unhcr.org . The website listed ZR as an RSD [Refugee Status Determination], as UNHCR has yet to determine his refugee status.

The UNHCR’s procedure with ZR and other refugees is to hold an interview to determine whether or not they qualified for political asylum.

The refugees are entitled to an appeal if their request was rejected. Indonesia takes in thousands of refugees annually, many of whom are headed to Australia or other third countries.

Many of them are Afghans fleeing the ongoing conflict in their country, or members of the Rohingya ethnic group fleeing persecution in Myanmar.

(Writer: Muhammad Naufal | Editor : Sabrina Asril)

Source:

https://megapolitan.kompas.com/read/2020/12/30/20105151/pencari-suaka-asal-afganistan-terlibat-kasus-pencurian-laptop-di-bandara?page=all#page2.