JAKARTA: The police arrested 27 Chinese nationals in a raid in Bandar Lampung suspected of running online scams targeting their fellow citizens in China.
Investigators searched a rented house in Bandar Lampung and detained 21 men and six women allegedly involved in an international scam syndicate on Oct 31, in an operation between the Bekasi Police and Bandar Lampung Police.
Bekasi Police criminal investigation division head Adj Sr Comr Agta Bhuwana said the raid followed a report filed with their office about an Indonesian phone number believed to have been used multiple times for scam attempts.
The scammers, he said, allegedly pretended to be Chinese police when contacting their victims in China, most of whom were elderly, to accuse them of conducting criminal activity.
"These perpetrators then sent the victims their data, including bank details and photos of a room of what seemed to be a Chinese police station,” Agta said on Friday (Nov 7), as quoted by Tribunnews.
“They also included a phishing link that, when victims clicked on it, would hack their phone and remotely conduct financial transactions.”
Investigators confiscated blue Chinese police uniforms and insignias, as well as smartphones, laptops and other electronic devices believed to be used for the scams.
The Bekasi Police are also working with the Bekasi Immigration Office to look into potential visa violations, with Agta saying that once the investigation concludes, the 27 scammers will be deported.
All 27 suspects are currently detained at the Bekasi Immigration Office’s detention facility, according to intelligence and immigration enforcement head Ahmad Ady Majeng.
“We are still waiting for the next step [in the legal proceedings]. Right now, the Bekasi Police are still coordinating with Interpol Indonesia’s National Central Bureau [NCB] and the Chinese Embassy in Jakarta,” Ahmad told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
He noted the cross-border nature of the case because the alleged scams were committed against victims in China but the Chinese scammers ran their operations from Indonesia.
This marked the latest case of transnational online scams, which have become more rampant across the continent over the years.
As recently as last Friday, Cambodian police detained more than 100 Indonesian nationals in a major raid on an online fraud operation in Phnom Penh, following reports that dozens of Indonesians were confined and blocked from leaving the 11-storey building where the scam took place. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
