JAKARTA: Bali police have arrested an Indonesian national wanted on an Interpol Red Notice for his alleged role in a Cambodia-based human trafficking and online scam syndicate.
Rifaldo Aquino Pontoh was arrested at I Gusti I Ngurah Rai International Airport in Badung regency, Bali, on Saturday (Feb 21) by a joint team consisting of officers from the National Central Bureau (NCB) Secretariat of Indonesian Interpol, detectives from the Jakarta Police General Crimes (Reskrimum) Directorate, as well as officers from the Airport Police and the Airport Immigration Office.
“We arrested an Interpol Red Notice subject by the name of Rifaldo Aquino Pontoh on Saturday at I Gusti I Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali,” head of the NCB Secretariat’s international crime section at the National Police headquarters’ International Relation Division, Sr Comr Ricky Purnama, said in a written statement on Feb 22, as quoted by tempo.co.
He said the arrest was the result of information received by NCB Indonesia from NCB Manila.
On Feb 20, Rifaldo was believed to have crossed from Cambodia to the Philippines and was due to continue on to Bali. In the human trafficking case Rifaldo allegedly used social media accounts to advertise vacancies and promised high salaries. The job seekers, however, suffered various forms of exploitation and abuse.
“The victims suffered serious abuse, such as passport confiscation, unpaid wages and forced to pay very high fees to resign or return to Indonesia,” Sr Comr Ricky said.
Previously, the director of the Jakarta Police Reskrim, Sr Comr Iman Imanuddin, said his directorate had proposed the issuance of a Red Notice against Rifaldo and two of his network, identified only as SME and RFP, in late 2025.
The syndicate is suspected of having sent hundreds of Indonesians to Cambodia to be employed in the online scamming industry.
“The issuance of the Red Notice is still being processed,” Sr Comr Iman told tempo.co at his office on Jan 20.
In addition to human trafficking, he said that the syndicate was also suspected of being involved in online scamming activities and money laundering and targeting Indonesians.
Separately, head of the directorate’s Violent Crime Subdirectorate, Adj Sr Comr Abdul Rahim said the three suspects had allegedly recruited hundreds of Indonesians to work in Cambodia by putting advertisements on social media. They promised high salaries with easy requirements.
“They promised high salaries to become company operators but did not inform the victims they would be working for online scam companies,” he said.
Hundreds repatriated
The number of Indonesians repatriated from Cambodia after becoming entangled in online scam operations has risen sharply over the past week, with hundreds returning home amid an ongoing crackdown on cross-border cybercrime, Indonesia’s ambassador to Cambodia said on Feb 22.
A total of 462 Indonesians were repatriated in the week beginning Feb 16 after flying back on tickets they had purchased themselves, having received support from the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh, Ambassador Santo Darmosumanto said in a statement to The Jakarta Post.
The largest single-day return took place on Feb 22, when 131 people flew back to Indonesia. About one-third of the returnees had previously been housed in temporary shelters facilitated by the embassy and Cambodian authorities.
Some were issued temporary travel documents because they did not possess passports, while nearly all were assisted by the embassy in seeking waivers or reductions in immigration fines from the Cambodian authorities.
Since Jan 30, the embassy has facilitated the return of 692 Indonesians linked to online scam syndicates, the envoy said, adding that the actual number of returnees could be higher, as some may have returned independently without reporting to the embassy.
Upon their arrival at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, returnees underwent questioning by a joint team that included law enforcement officers.
The screening is intended to complement an early assessment conducted by the embassy, particularly regarding the extent of each individual’s involvement in online scam networks. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
