Indonesia jails four soldiers for people-smuggling

George Roberts, Indonesia correspondent
ABC
Updated Fri Sep 28, 2012 6:40am AEST

More Indonesian soldiers have been jailed over their involvement in a deadly people smuggling operation in which more than 200 people died trying to get to Australia.

Earlier this week the first ever Indonesian soldier, Second Sergeant Ilmun Abdul Said, was sentenced over people smuggling.

Now four other soldiers he recruited have been sentenced, and each fined $US52,000 (500 million rupiah) over a boat that sank in December last year killing more than 200 people.

Second Sergeant, Kornelius Nama, has been sentenced to six years jail for helping to plot pick-up points for the migrants and source boats to pick them up from the shore.

The other three officers were given five year prison terms for their role as lookouts.

While being handcuffed and taken away, Kornelius claimed there were more senior people in the large syndicate that have avoided punishment.

The organiser of the boats previously implicated a member of the president's security, but no higher ranking officials have been found or prosecuted.

Last December's incident is believed to be the largest loss of life from a sinking [sic] of one of the many boats packed with Asian and Middle Eastern migrants who undertake the often perilous voyage to Australia via Indonesia.

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