A Needle In A Haystack?

I read in the news last week that the Surabaya Police were searching for at least 780 people, including children, believed to have been the victims of human trafficking.

Call me stupid, but, how can you move that many people around without attracting at least some attention to yourself?

The whole exercise was sparked off after a woman managed to escape for one off two buildings where she and the other 780 people had been held captive in Surabaya.
Surabaya is the second largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta with almost 3 million inhabitants. The city is highly urbanized, due to the many industries located in the city, and as a result, there is also a large slum area. It stands to reason that an activity of this scale would not go unnoticed. Me, I cannot even arrive home pissed without the whole street knowing about it, even less try to smuggle a bird back to the house.

Here’s the worst bit.

“The search was begun following the police's failure to make an arrest in a raid on two buildings believed to have been used to house the victims here Wednesday.
The police investigated the buildings after receiving a report from a victim who managed to escape last Monday night after reportedly being held with other victims in the buildings for many days.

The victim said that she and hundreds of other victims, including underage women, were held in the two buildings on Jl. Tidar in the city. The two buildings belong to two private companies identified as PT JKS and PT GS, which have permits to send migrant workers abroad.”

Correct me if I am wrong here. The cops knew about this, they know the culprits, they know the location and they know there are “ hundreds” of women being held against their will. Seems pretty straightforward that something had to be done and, well err yes it was!

Someone leaked the information about a police raid in time for PT JKS and PT GS to organize buses (I reckon about 20 buses would be needed, 40 people each bus) or alternatively to march the hundreds of women through the streets of Surabaya to safety.

Again, how do you do this without attracting some attention?

Another instance of something going horribly wrong in this country where the authorities can blatantly do what they please, when they please and in this case to whom they please.

I will keep an eye out for any updates so I can find out what happened to these women, but, hey, it’s Indonesia, don’t hold your breath!