Jakarta – The government, along with law enforcement officials, has uncovered a new online gambling practice involving hundreds of foreign nationals (WNA) in a cross-border network.
In a raid on an office on Jalan Hayam Wuruk, West Jakarta, the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim Polri) arrested 321 foreign nationals suspected of operating an organized online gambling site.
The Director of General Crimes at Bareskrim Polri, Brigadier General Wira Satya Triputra, said the perpetrators came from various countries and were suspected of operating digital-based gambling activities using a well-organized system.
“We discovered suspected organized gambling activities involving foreign nationals from various countries,” said Wira.
Of the 321 people arrested, 228 were from Vietnam, 57 from China, 13 from Myanmar, 11 from Laos, five from Thailand, and three each from Malaysia and Cambodia.
According to investigators, the perpetrators used various new methods to evade government blocking. Police discovered at least 75 domains and online gambling sites that used specific character combinations to evade digital system surveillance.
In addition to arresting the perpetrators, authorities also confiscated several pieces of evidence, including safes, passports, cell phones, laptops, personal computers, and cash in various foreign currencies. Police suspect the network is linked to an international syndicate operating across borders.
The Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) also commended the National Police for their swift action in dismantling the international online gambling headquarters. Komdigi’s Director General of Digital Space Supervision, Alexander Sabar, assessed that this case demonstrates the increasingly sophisticated patterns of global online gambling operations.
“This shows that online gambling is an organized transnational crime, with the use of digital technology to camouflage the system to evade blocking,” said Alex.
He emphasized that the government will continue to strengthen coordination with the National Police, the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), the Financial Services Authority (OJK), and Bank Indonesia to narrow the scope of online gambling perpetrators.
“The disclosure of this international network demonstrates that the government is serious and continues to work to eradicate online gambling,” he said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Communication and Digital Meutya Hafid emphasized that eradicating digital crime is a government priority. She believes that collaboration between institutions is crucial to pursuing increasingly complex cybercrimes.
“Online gambling, scams, and various crimes targeting children and vulnerable groups must be dealt with more stringently. There will be no tolerance,” Meutya emphasized.