The National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency raided a gambling operation—involving both arcade-style games and casino-style gambling—at Nagoya Game Zone in Batam, Riau Islands, on Saturday night, 15th of August.
During the operation, officers detained 197 individuals, including 10 foreign nationals from Singapore, Malaysia, and China.
“As a result of last night’s operation [Saturday, the 15th of August], we detained 197 individuals, including foreign nationals. We also seized approximately Rp7.79 billion in cash,” said the Deputy Head of the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency, Inspector General Nunung Syaifuddin, to reporters the following Sunday (16th of August).
Syaifuddin stated that the raid on the arcade-style gambling and casino facility at Nagoya Game Zone in Batam stemmed from public reports. Subsequently, the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency conducted an investigation spanning approximately three months.
In addition to cash, investigators seized various gaming machines and equipment. The evidence comprised 16 slot machines, 54 ‘scatter’ machines, 20 Mahjong machines, one dice game machine, and 14 ‘fish shooting’ game machines. All the evidence has been secured for the investigation and further legal proceedings.
Among the 197 individuals detained, police also identified various roles held at the site. Aside from the person identified as the owner—whose initial is A—there were two managers, five cashiers, one supervisor, 65 operators (bankers), two marketing staff members, and 96 players.
The alleged gambling offence may be subject to Article 426 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of nine years in prison. Investigators are also keeping open the possibility of applying provisions regarding the crime of money laundering if elements of money laundering linked to the gambling activities are uncovered during the investigation.
Previously, in May, the Special Criminal Investigation Directorate of the Riau Islands uncovered an international online gambling operation disguised as a Hong Kong lottery in Batam City. Twenty-four foreign nationals from five countries were detained during raids at two separate locations. Jefrico Daud Marturia, the Head of the Immigration Intelligence and Enforcement Division at the Batam Class I Special Immigration Office, observed that even though visa-free policies and streamlined entry for tourists were intended to support the investment and tourism climate in Batam, these provisions were also reportedly being exploited by certain foreign nationals to commit legal violations.