The Sub-Directorate IV of the Criminal Investigation Directorate of the Riau Islands Police (Polda Kepri) has successfully secured 15 prospective Indonesian Migrant Workers (CPMI) who were set to depart through the International Harbourbay Port in Batam without proper documentation.
Among these, eight CPMI were suspected of being recruited to work in the online gambling (judol) network in Myanmar, while the other seven were headed for Malaysia.
The Director of Criminal Investigation at Polda Kepri, Kombes Pol Ade Mulyana, revealed that the network used social media groups to avoid detection by law enforcement.
“Among the CPMI we secured yesterday, none were suspected of being controllers or companions. For their departure, those heading to Myanmar were directed through a Telegram group,” said Kombes Ade Mulyana.
Following investigation, the eight CPMI heading to Myanmar claimed they were only going to work as TikTok live stream hosts.
“Those traveling to Myanmar only claimed they would be live stream hosts. However, we suspected online gambling involvement based on the groups they were part of,” he explained.
Currently, 11 out of the 15 individuals have undergone questioning, while the remaining four are still under interrogation. They will soon be handed over to the Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Agency (BP3MI) for repatriation.
Additionally, the public can report online gambling cases through the following channels: WhatsApp at 085283555830, Email at forumindonesiaemas@gmail.com, Instagram @fie_indonesiaemas, and Telegram at t.me/ForumIndonesiaEmas.
