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raud convict Ony Suryanto, 32, who has been imprisoned in Salemba Penitentiary, Central Jakarta, for two years, tricked several police officials into giving him money through text messages, all the while locked up behind bars.

Ony, who was imprisoned for conning a police official in Yogyakarta, said that he owed up to Rp 20 million (US$1,440) to his acquaintances for purchasing heroin from inside the prison, and resorted to conning once again to pay back the debt, kompas.com reported. Ony was to be released on Monday but will remain in his prison cell after the revelation.

Ony had persuaded a prison guard to provide him with a cell phone by offering the guard various benefits. He then acquired the cell phone and called a number of National Police officials. Having established contact with these officials, Ony pretended to be a bodyguard for National Police chief Comr. Gen. Badrodin Haiti, deputy chief Insp. Gen. Budi Gunawan and others.

Ony persuaded the police officials to give him money by telling them that the top-ranking officials he purportedly worked for had asked them for a certain amount of money, and that Ony was acting as a humble middleman. Ony said that he had received up to Rp 11 million from this ingenious act.

Separately, Jakarta Police criminal detective director Sr. Comr. Khrisna Murti acknowledged that Ony received assistance from a prison guard. Khrisna said that Ony'€™s act was revealed after two police officials reported their experience.