Jakarta, NU Online
The government will immediately process the repatriation of 177 Indonesian haj pilgrims arrested by Philippine immigration officials for passport fraud, a senior minister has said.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto said on Tuesday the haj pilgrims had all been relocated to the Indonesian Embassy in Manila and they had completed all investigative processes conducted by Philippines officials, during which some of them testified as witnesses.

"They are not suspects, they are [declared as] victims of fraud committed by travel operators, who had offered them to take the haj pilgrimage [via the Philippines]," Wiranto was quoted by The Jakarta Post as saying.

Philippine Immigration head Jaime Morente said earlier the fake Philippine passports used by the haj pilgrims were reportedly provided by their brokers.

Haj fees paid by the pilgrims reportedly varied from US$6,000 to 10,000 per person. They used unused seats of the haj quota provided by the Saudi Arabian government for the Philippines.

Morente said the group were exposed after airport staff discovered that they were unable to speak Tagalog. (Masdar)