JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian law enforcement officials conducted a major raid Saturday against an illegal online gambling network in Jakarta, detaining 321 foreign nationals in what authorities describe as one of the nation’s most significant operations targeting digital betting crimes.
The foreign workers, predominantly from Vietnam, were taken into custody at a commercial facility located near Jakarta’s Chinatown district. Investigators say the location served as headquarters for more than 70 gambling websites that marketed services to customers outside Indonesia, according to promotional materials and electronic evidence gathered during the operation.
The detained individuals consist of 228 Vietnamese citizens, 57 Chinese nationals, and others from Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia, according to Wira Satya Triputra, who heads general crimes investigations for Indonesia’s National Police. Authorities continue working to identify the organizers and financial supporters of the network.
“We arrested the suspects in the act while they were carrying out activities related to online gambling,” Triputra stated during Saturday’s press briefing. He explained the enterprise functioned with clear organizational structure, assigning workers to specific duties including customer support, sales calls and money management. Law enforcement estimates the operation had been active for approximately two months.
Officials noted that gambling organizations frequently relocate their activities to avoid law enforcement detection, commonly hiring foreign employees to manage websites and customer support services.
According to Triputra, many suspects had entered Indonesia with temporary tourist visas but remained beyond their authorized stay while employed at the gambling facility. He added that “immigration violations were uncovered in addition to suspected gambling and money-laundering offenses.”
During the raid, police confiscated currency from various countries, computing equipment, cellular devices, travel documents and other materials believed connected to the gambling platform management. Officials estimate the organization controlled at least 75 betting websites.
By Saturday, 275 detainees had been officially designated as suspects, while remaining individuals continued under interrogation, Triputra reported. Those facing charges could receive up to nine years imprisonment under Indonesia’s criminal and immigration statutes, plus fines reaching 2 billion rupiah ($116,000).
Comparable international criminal enterprises have emerged recently in Surabaya, Bali and Batam, demonstrating the necessity for enhanced cooperation between law enforcement and government departments to address online gambling and associated fraud schemes, stated Untung Widyatmoko, secretary of Indonesia’s Interpol division.
Widyatmoko indicated authorities have observed evidence that online gambling operators formerly operating in Myanmar and Cambodia are moving their activities to different nations, including Indonesia, following crackdowns in those locations.
“After enforcement measures in Cambodia, we started to see a shift toward Indonesia, and that was something we anticipated,” Widyatmoko explained.
Approximately 210 foreign citizens – including 47 women – from Vietnam, China and Myanmar, suspected of involvement in online investment fraud schemes, were detained Wednesday during an immigration enforcement action at an apartment complex on Indonesia’s Batam island, adjacent to Singapore.
Officials in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, announced Friday they had arrested 44 foreign nationals from Japan and China for impersonating law enforcement officers in an international telephone and online fraud operation, following the March arrest of 13 Japanese men in West Java’s Bogor city connected to the same case.
During the previous month, approximately 16 suspects from an international scamming network from China, Malaysia and Taiwan were arrested in West Java’s Sukabumi region, while 26 alleged online fraudsters, including individuals from Philippines and Kenya, were expelled from Bali.
Online gambling remains prohibited in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, which has intensified enforcement efforts due to concerns about organized crime and international cyber operations. Police indicated the investigation may result in additional arrests connected to international networks.
