JAKARTA: Indonesia is emerging as a new hub for transnational online gambling and scam operations, its police said, with the authorities planning to establish a task force to curb the growing threat. 

Operations that were once concentrated in countries like Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam are increasingly being uncovered across Indonesia, the National Central Bureau of Interpol Indonesia said last Saturday (May 9).

“After successful crackdowns in countries (in Indochina), the operations seem to have moved to Indonesia,” said Untung Widyatmoko, secretary of Interpol Indonesia, as quoted by news outlet The Jakarta Post. 

Recent raids have uncovered cybercrime dens across the country that allegedly involved hundreds of foreign nationals, including a major operation at an office building in Hayam Wuruk area of West Jakarta. 

Police arrested 321 people, including 228 Vietnamese and 57 Chinese nationals, in the Hayam Wuruk raid on May 7.

The online gambling operation had been active for two months, authorities said. 

The Hayam Wuruk raid came a day after another major operation in Batam, where immigration and police officers detained 210 foreign nationals at the Baloi View Apartment in the Lubuk Baja area. 

“Previously, cases have been uncovered in Denpasar, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Surakarta, Bogor and Sukabumi,” Untung was quoted as saying by news outlet Kompas.

He added that servers that were previously located in scam hubs such as Sihanoukville and Poipet in Cambodia, or Myawaddy in Myanmar, have begun moving to Indonesia.

Untung said operational bases for such transnational crimes have also shifted to the Philippines, Timor-Leste, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and South Africa.

INDONESIAN WITH CAMBODIA LINKS AMONG THOSE...