Married Couple in Serang Run Online Prostitution Ring Under the Pretext of Restaurant Job Openings

Polda Banten has uncovered an online prostitution operation run by a husband-and-wife duo identified by the initials AB (27) and FA (26) in Kramatwatu, Serang Regency. The modus operandi involved promising victims jobs at a restaurant, but upon arrival at the location they were forced to provide services to customers as commercial sex workers (PSK).

Maruli Ahiles Hutapea, the head of public relations for Polda Banten, explained that FA and AB targeted young women who were seeking employment. The victims were lured with promises of work at a restaurant.

“They recruited young women with the promise of a job at a restaurant. However, once under the suspects’ control, the victims were employed as sex workers,” Maruli said on Thursday 5 March 2026.

When arrested on 16 February 2026, there were three victims sold by the couple. They were aged 33, 23 and 17. Two were from Bandung City, and the youngest from Baros, Serang Regency.

The victims were forced to service perverts at rates of Rp 250,000 to Rp 300,000 through the MiChat messaging app. Based on investigation results, the two suspects had been operating this practice for about a year.

According to Maruli, the victims were forced to service up to five men in a day. The suspects had previously promised wages of Rp 10 million if the targets were met.

For their actions, the suspects were charged under Article 2 in conjunction with Article 10 and Article 17 of Law Number 21 of 2007 on the Eradication of Trafficking in Persons (TPPO) and/or Article 455 of the Criminal Code. The penalties range from a minimum of 3 years’ imprisonment to a maximum of 15 years.

The police assured that the victims have received assistance. Polda Banten is also coordinating with relevant agencies to provide protection and psychosocial rehabilitation for the victims.

Earlier, Head of Sub-Directorate IV Renakta of Ditreskrimum Polda Banten, AKBP Irene Missy, said that this disclosure began from public reports about suspicious activities at a boarding house. Police subsequently raided the boarding house run by AB and FA on Monday (16 February) at 01:00 WIB.

In the operation, police seized evidence including a mobile phone belonging to the perpetrators, cash amounting to Rp9,850,000, six boxes of contraception, lubricant gel, and screenshots of prostitution transaction chats.