TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Chinese citizens nabbed in Jakarta for alleged scam targeting foreigners, other Chinese
Change Size
According to the police, the syndicate scammed its victims ─ most of whom were Chinese nationals ─ through phone calls. (Shutterstock/File)
A
total of 66 Chinese nationals have been arrested in Jakarta for allegedly running an international scam syndicate and committing fraud targeting foreigners, mostly Chinese citizens.
Investigators from the Jakarta Police arrested them during raids in six different locations in Greater Jakarta, namely in Griya Loka BSD, Banten; Mega Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta; Kemanggisan, West Jakarta; Pantai Indah Kapuk, North Jakarta; Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta and Bandengan Tambora in West Jakarta.
“Based on the data we have collected, so far we have arrested 66 Chinese nationals,” Jakarta Police special crime unit director Sr. Comr. Iwan Kurniawan said on Monday.
Many of them were arrested in houses located in residential areas that they had reportedly rented for months, kompas.com reported.
According to the police, the syndicate scammed its victims ─ most of whom were Chinese nationals ─ through phone calls. The perpetrators allegedly called their targets and claimed that the latter had been caught in a financial problem, and offered to help them in exchange for money.
It is still unclear whether the foreigners and Chinese nationals targeted in the scam were only those who lived in their home countries, those living in Indonesia or both.
Iwan said the police could not yet reveal the details regarding the suspects’ motives or why they chose Indonesia as the location to commit the crimes, as the authorities needed to investigate the case further.
The suspects had been brought to the Jakarta Police headquarters for further interrogation, which would involve some translators, he said.
Similar arrests had also taken place in Malang, East Java, where the police apprehended on Monday evening six Chinese nationals and one Indonesian citizen who were alleged to be members of the scam syndicate. (gis)
