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Men had 'fake' SA passports
07/09/2004 13:25 - (SA)
Pretoria - Two individuals holding suspected forged South African passports have been arrested in Indonesia for alleged drug offences, the foreign affairs department confirmed in Pretoria on Tuesday.
An investigation by the South African diplomatic mission in Jakarta found that the passports they held appeared to have been forged, said department spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa.
"Department of Home Affairs records have at this stage revealed that the two passports were issued to people other than the two suspects," the department said in a statement.
Indonesian authorities and the South African home affairs department were verifying the suspects' fingerprints and identity documents to determine their nationality.
South African officials would only seek consular access to the men should it transpire that they were citizens of this country, Mamoepa said.
French news agency AFP quoted Indonesian police as saying they arrested two South Africans following an operation last Tuesday - described as the biggest heroin bust in two years.
Police reportedly found 2.3kg of the drug, worth about $215 000, when they raided a hotel room on the resort island of Bali where the two were staying.
The men were identified as John Gabriele, 37, and Martin Christopher, 40.
More than 20 people, mostly foreigners, were on death row in Indonesia for drug offences, the news agency said.
- SAPA
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