Jakarta: Twelve people, including a policeman and an immigration officer, have been detained by Indonesian authorities on suspicion of transporting 122 people to Cambodia so they could be sold for kidneys, according to officials on Thursday.

The suspects were accused of breaking Indonesian law against human trafficking, and if found guilty, they could spend up to 15 years in prison and pay a fine of up to 600 million rupiah ($40,040).

According to Hengki Haryadi, the director of the criminal investigation unit at the Jakarta Police, they were accused of using social media to find people across Indonesia and sending them to Cambodia for kidney transplant surgery.

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Each of the victims was guaranteed 135 million rupiah ($9,009). 

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"The victims consented to have their organs sold because they required cash. "During the pandemic, the majority of them lost their jobs," Hengki told reporters.
Human trafficking, mostly for labor and frequently through debt-based coercion, is nothing new in Indonesia.

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In 2019, authorities made eight arrests in connection with the largest-ever human trafficking bust in the nation, which involved 1,200 victims who were sent abroad to work as domestic helpers.