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AKARTA: The Jakarta Police arrested eight suspects for alleged fraud, which they carried out by claiming to be public officials and asking the staffers to transfer some amounts of money.

Jakarta Police general crimes director Sr. Comr. Krishna Murti said on Friday that the suspects learned their victims'€™ profiles before making calls and asking for money.

'€œThey even claimed to be me and called the directorate'€™s treasurer for money worth Rp 200 million [US$15,011],'€ he said, adding that the police were able to arrest the suspects because of that particular call.

From the arrest, the police confiscated, among other things, fake family cards and identity cards, cash and hundreds of automatic teller machine (ATM) cards and bank account books from various banks. The accounts and cards were registered under the names of prominent Indonesian officials, such as the Golkar Party'€™s Agung Laksono, Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam and Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto.

The deputy head of the violent crimes unit with the Jakarta Police, Adj. Comr. Teuku Arsya Khadafi, told reporters that during their two-year operation, the suspects earned around Rp 5 billion.

The suspects would be charged with the Criminal Code'€™s Article 378 on fraud, which carries a maximum punishment of four years in prison, and Articles 263 and 264 on document forgery, which have a maximum punishment of eight years in prison.