Indonesia's Interpol NCB Forms Task Force for Transnational Digital Crime

Jakarta - Indonesia’s National Central Bureau (NCB) of Interpol, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, plans to consolidate efforts to form a task force to handle transnational crimes in the country. Secretary of NCB Interpol Indonesia in the International Relations Division of the National Police, Brigadier General Untung Widyatmoko, stated that there has been a pattern of shifting transnational criminal activities to Indonesia recently. “After being regulated in the Indochina region, the shift to Indonesia has begun, and we have anticipated and predicted this,” Untung said during a press conference in Jakarta on Saturday. He explained that in the Indochina area, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, which have long been bases for recruitment and online criminal activities targeting transnational victims and foreign nationals, enforcement actions have been carried out. The online criminal activities in question include various online operation patterns, such as scams or scamming ranging from love scams to online investments, including online gambling. The shift in these criminal activities, he continued, is evident from the numerous recent arrests and revelations of transnational digital crimes in Indonesia, from Surabaya, Denpasar, Surakarta, Yogyakarta, Batam, Sukabumi, Bogor, to Jakarta. Therefore, Untung stated that collaboration is needed to address this issue, as it is impossible for the National Police to work alone but must be supported by other ministries and institutions. Thus, NCB Interpol has sat down with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and consolidated to tackle this phenomenon of crime that is developing very rapidly. Not only with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Untung said that NCB has also coordinated with the Ministry of Immigration and Correctional Services (Kemenimipas) to anticipate the entry of individuals listed as subjects of interest (SOI). SOI refers to foreign nationals or Indonesian citizens who are on the special surveillance radar of the Directorate General of Immigration under Kemenimipas due to indications of immigration rule violations or transnational crimes. “Because if left only to the National Police’s actions, it certainly won’t be effective,” he emphasised.