DPR Member Urges Trial of 320 Foreign Nationals in International Online Gambling Syndicate in Indonesia
Jakarta - Deputy Chairman of Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Ahmad Sahroni, has urged law enforcement authorities to process all foreign nationals (WNA) arrested in the international online gambling network case in Jakarta in accordance with applicable Indonesian law.
According to Sahroni, the perpetrators must not be simply repatriated to their home countries before being held criminally accountable in Indonesia.
“Commission III appreciates the extraordinary work of the National Police; this is a super-major revelation in the history of combating online gambling domestically. But most importantly, all the arrested perpetrators must be processed under the law in Indonesia,” Sahroni stated when contacted on Monday (11/5/2026).
This NasDem Party politician also urged the National Police not to stop at arresting the on-the-ground operators.
Sahroni encouraged the authorities to hunt down the parties suspected of being the financiers and facilitators behind the illegal business.
According to Sahroni, the police must collaborate with the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) to trace all the fund flows in the online gambling network.
“It is impossible for more than 300 foreign nationals to operate without strong actors behind them. And it is reasonable to suspect the involvement of local networks,” he said.
Sahroni reminded that the authorities must act against all involved parties without discrimination based on nationality.
“Basically, whether foreign or Indonesian nationals, everyone must be arrested; there must be no favouritism. The National Police and PPATK must eradicate it down to the roots,” he said.
Previously reported, the Directorate of General Criminal Crimes of the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency uncovered an international online gambling practice in the Hayam Wuruk Plaza Tower area, West Jakarta, on Saturday (9/5/2026).
A day after the arrests, the National Police revealed that the 320 individuals secured were foreign nationals, and their detention was handed over to the Directorate General of Immigration of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights.
The hundreds of foreign nationals consisted of 228 Vietnamese, 57 Chinese, 13 Myanmar nationals, 11 Laotians, five Thais, three Malaysians, and three Cambodians.
Meanwhile, one other individual is an Indonesian national and is now being further processed by the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency.
The Indonesian national was known to have been involved in an international online gambling network in Cambodia.