Businessmen conned out of Rp 920m

JAKARTA: Two businessmen from Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, lost Rp 920 million (US$108,235) after being cheated by two impostors pretending to employees of cell phone operator Telkomsel.

The businessmen, Mirza Aryadi and Julian Fajar, reported the case to the Jakarta Police on Friday.

Police arrested three persons, Isti, Yuli and Sugi, on Friday afternoon as they allegedly have links with the two prime suspects, Hendy and Sutrisno, who are still at large.

Mirza and Fajar intended to purchase 20,000 cell phone vouchers from Telkomsel on Tuesday but were offered the same number of vouchers by Isti, Yuli and Sugi at a lower price.

"They promised to supply the Rp 100,000 vouchers for Rp 92,000. The total value of the transaction would have been Rp 1.9 billion," Mirza told reporters at city police headquarters.

Isti, Yuli and Sugi then introduced Mirza and Fajar to Sutrisno and Hendy, who pretended to be Telkomsel employees.

The businessmen handed over Rp 920 million in cash as a down payment to Sutrisno and Hendy in an apartment in Casablanca, South Jakarta, on Friday.

The two victims left the apartment to withdraw the remaining Rp 1 billion from a bank. When they return to the apartment, the two suspects were nowhere to be found. -- JP