Indonesian police name suspects after 58 citizens lured to Russia to serve as mercenaries

JAKARTA: Indonesian authorities have uncovered a human trafficking syndicate involving 58 citizens who were allegedly recruited to work as mercenaries in Russia. 

Thirteen people have been named as suspects, including two Russians and a Ukrainian citizen, the National Police Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim Polri) said on Monday (Nov 2).

Nurul Azizah, director of Bareskrim Polri's directorate of crimes against women and children and human trafficking, said at a press conference that the perpetrators used social media, job portals and messaging apps to lure victims with promises of lucrative overseas employment, state news agency Antara reported. 

“We are coordinating through the Indonesian National Police’s International Relations Division and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Everything is still under further review,” Nurul said in response to CNA's queries on Tuesday.

The victims were initially offered jobs in logistics, border security and defence construction, but after going through the recruitment process and being dispatched to Russia, they would be directed to sign contracts to serve as mercenaries, undergo training and potentially be deployed to conflict zones.

“It is true that they did not directly offer jobs as mercenaries, but rather as logistics workers,” Nurul told reporters in Jakarta on Monday, as quoted by Kompas.

The victims were promised signing bonuses of up to US$35,000 and monthly salaries of around US$3,000.