TLDR Indonesia’s Immigration Office arrested 5 foreign nationals, 2 from China and 3 from Vietnam, over a suspected online gambling operation. The arrests followed a raid on September 7 in Kelapa Dua, Tangerang District, where officers seized 1 computer, 1 laptop, and 26 mobile phones. Suspicion first arose after the group applied to extend their stay permits using travel tickets with altered names. Officials believe the Chinese nationals tracked transactions while the Vietnamese nationals collected money from gambling activity aimed at the Vietnamese market. Authorities are now searching for 7 other foreigners connected to the case, with 2 already named as subjects of interest.
Indonesia’s Immigration Office has arrested 5 foreign nationals suspected of running an online gambling operation. The group includes 2 Chinese nationals and 3 Vietnamese nationals.
The arrests took place after a raid on September 7 in Kelapa Dua, a district in Tangerang, Banten. Officers found a large number of electronic devices at the location.
Barron Ichsan, head of the Banten Immigration Office, said the devices were running automatically when officers arrived. This raised suspicion about their use.
How the Investigation Started
The case began on August 29, when the 5 foreigners applied to extend their temporary stay permits. As part of the process, they had to submit proof of round-trip travel tickets.
Immigration officers reviewing the applications noticed problems with the tickets. The names on the documents appeared to have been changed.
Officials believed the tickets did not actually belong to the applicants. This led immigration officers to summon all 5 individuals for questioning on September 7.
After the group responded to the summons, officers searched their residence in Kelapa Dua. That search turned up the electronic equipment now tied to the case.
In total, officers seized 1 computer, 1 laptop, and 26