Four Japanese men have been arrested in Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua allegedly for immigration violations during a massive raid on companies in one of the province's regencies, the local immigration office said Monday.
An official at the Tembagapura Immigration Office in Mimika Regency, whose jurisdiction covers multiple regencies in the province, said the four Japanese nationals were among 37 foreigners arrested during the raid in Papua's Nabire Regency from Thursday to Monday.
The four, according to the official, work for the South Jakarta-based gold mining company PT Nur Alam International, which apparently has a gold mine in Nabire.
The company allegedly bribed local police and government officials to recommend the Japanese men to the Ministry of Manpower and the Directorate General of Immigration so as to facilitate their approval for working permits and limited stay permits, the official said.
One of the four Japanese men has been identified only by his last name, Tanaka, 53, from Tokyo.
According to his documents, copies of which were obtained by Kyodo News, Tanaka got his limited stay permit on May 1 from the South Jakarta Immigration Office and it is valid for a year. The Ministry of Manpower issued a working permit for him on May 21 that is valid for a year.