A case of an alleged international fraud network in telecommunications involving 55 foreigners has been uncovered by the Directorate of General Crimes of the Indonesian National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency.
The alleged perpetrators were arrested by police in three different locations. One of the police raids occurred at a house in the Duren Sawit area, East Jakarta, where approximately 20 people were arrested on Tuesday 4th April 2023.
Local residents did not know that the house was inhabited by so many people. However, sometimes catering cars and online motorcycle taxis come to deliver food, noted a witness to the raid.
According to the police, the perpetrators carried out a long-distance fraud from Indonesia with victims based overseas.
“Out of the 55 foreigners, 50 are identified as men and five are women,” said the Director of General Crimes Brigadier General Djuhandani Rahardjo Puro on Wednesday 5th April.
A number of frauds were committed by the group. One of them was to call a victim and claim to be the local police; the perpetrators then asked the victims for money, which was instructed to be sent to an overseas account.
Another method was by offering the sale of electronic goods to a victim. However, after the victim made the payment, no goods were sent.
Puro revealed that during the course of the action, the perpetrators allegedly received profits of up to billions of rupiah every month.
“Because this crime scene is in Indonesia, but the victims are from Singapore, Thailand, China, and other countries, so far there have been no reports received or else we can get the victims based on their confessions,” he explained.
The police cannot confirm the perpetrators’ countries of origin due to their inability to present their passports. Therefore, the Immigration and International Relations Police is in the process of establishing communications and identifying the countries.
Police have confiscated several pieces of evidence, including 51 iPads, 68 cell phones, seven laptops, and a headset box. The perpetrators have been charged under law number 11 of 2008 as amended by law number 19 of 2016 concerning ITE and then law number 6 of 2011 concerning immigration.