Tribratanews.polri.go.id – Jakarta. The Directorate of General Crimes Investigation of the Criminal Investigation Agency of the Indonesian National Police (INP) arrested 61 suspects in connection with an international telecom fraud syndicate. Of the 61 arrested, 55 were foreign nationals while 6 were Indonesian citizens. According to Director Brigadier General Djuhandani Rahardjo Puro, these suspects had been running the scam for approximately one year.
“The estimated profits gained by these criminals in just one month alone were in the tens of billions of rupiah. Their total earnings over the course of one year of operation is believed to be in the hundreds of billions,” he said on Wednesday (5/3/23).
The arrests were made at three different locations on April 4, 2023, and were based on information provided by the public. The investigation revealed that the suspects were involved in electronic media fraud, international network fraud, illegal access and use of travel documents and visas, as well as visa and residency permit forgery.
The suspects operated by running a call center that targeted potential victims. They would contact the victims and impersonate law enforcement officials, informing them that they were involved in some sort of legal matter. The victims would then be instructed to call a given phone number and would engage in negotiations until they agreed to transfer money to the suspects’ accounts. In another modus operandi, the suspects would offer electronic products for sale via a link but the products would never be delivered after the victim made payment.
The suspects will be charged under Indonesian law, specifically under Article 28 paragraph 1, Article 45A, Article 32, Article 48, Article 35, Article 51 of Law No. 11 of 2008, as well as Article 119 paragraph 1, Article 121 letter B, and Article 122 letter A of Law No. 6 of 2011.
“Since the victims, in this case, are located outside of Indonesia, the police plan to collaborate with other countries’ law enforcement agencies through the International Relations Division of INP and the Immigration Department,” he said.
(ndt)
