Immigration Dismantles Love-Scamming Syndicate, 19 Foreigners Deported
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — The Tangerang Class I Special Non-TPI Immigration Office foiled the plan to operate an online scam scheme disguised as love-scamming that was purportedly to operate in Teluknaga District, Tangerang Regency. Nineteen foreign nationals were detained in an immigration surveillance operation after intelligence information regarding suspicious activities potentially disrupting public security and order.
Immigration officers detained the WNAs at an apartment in Teluknaga on Friday, 8 May 2026, at around 22:00 local time. Hasanin, head of the Tangerang Class I Special Non-TPI Immigration Office, said the swift action followed initial information; “After receiving that information, we conducted desk-based intelligence (pulbaket) and, after obtaining information A1, we responded quickly by moving to the target location and coordinating with the management and security parties to carry out immigration surveillance,” he said in a press release on Wednesday, 20 May 2026.
Of the 19 detained, 15 were Chinese nationals, one Taiwanese, one Malaysian, one Vietnamese, and one Cambodian. Bong Bong Prakoso Napitupulu, head of the Intelligence and Immigration Enforcement Sub-Directorate at the same office, explained that officers found strong indications of online scam practices. “We carried out immigration surveillance at several apartment units and managed to arrest 19 foreigners. Field checks indicate that the 19 were suspected to be part of an online scam syndicate that previously operated in Cambodia. We found travel history records in the passports of all 19 Cambodians and WhatsApp group chat evidence pointing to online scam activities,” he said.
According to an immigration database check, 16 foreigners held pre-investment visit permits, two had Visa on Arrival, and one held a visa-free short visit facility. Officers also traced the guarantor companies for the foreigners and found indications that several guarantor firms were fictitious and not operating in accordance with registered data.
During the operation, officers seized evidence including 19 foreign passports, 32 mobile phones, three laptops, 28 Cambodian foreign worker registration cards, one lease agreement for a shop-house, and various transaction records and internet access bookings believed to support the scamming activity.
Bong Bong stated that the examinations pointed to the likelihood that the 19 foreigners had previously carried out online fraud in Cambodia. “Based on investigations into the 19 foreigners and the seized evidence, it is strongly suspected that they previously conducted online scam activities in Cambodia, given that Cambodia has tightened access and shut down spaces for scammers, prompting them to seek new loopholes in Indonesia,” he said. He added that the foreigners were suspected of operating an organized pattern to avoid law enforcement oversight. During immigration surveillance, the 19 foreigners were continuously instructed not to travel in crowds or attract attention, to avoid searches by immigration or police, and to refrain from revealing their actual residence address or the purpose of their presence in Indonesia.
“This was learned from WhatsApp chat evidence retrieved while officers were on site,” Bong Bong explained. The head of the Tangerang Immigration Office emphasised that, based on the Selective Policy principle and Article 75 paragraph (1) of Law No. 6 of 2011 on Immigration, the 19 foreigners were deemed to pose a threat to public security and order. After coordinating with the Directorate General of Immigration and the West Java Immigration Regional Office, all 19 were subjected to administrative immigration actions consisting of deportation and refusal of entry, carried out on Tuesday, 19 May 2026.