Padel Racket Scam Victim Pursues Suspect to North Sumatra, Ends in Settlement
A woman from Grogol Petamburan, West Jakarta, named Lenny, fell victim to an online fraud scheme disguised as a padel racket business, losing Rp 300 million. After being defrauded, the victim persistently tracked down the perpetrators to Langkat Regency, North Sumatra.
The fraud occurred on Thursday (5 March 2026), the same day she transferred Rp 300 million to a scammer posing as an old friend.
“On Saturday, I travelled from Bali on a seven-hour flight plus two hours by road to Medan after confirming the location of the suspected perpetrator. I stayed one night in a hotel in Medan,” Lenny stated in an Instagram post (@lennymtanu), quoted on Wednesday (11 March 2026).
On the same day, the victim filed a police report at Grogol Petamburan Police Station, West Jakarta.
On Sunday morning (8 March 2026), Lenny successfully communicated with local police at Langkat Police Station. However, since her initial report was filed in Jakarta, she requested assistance from Grogol Petamburan Police Station to travel to Langkat.
With an escort from combined police personnel, Lenny travelled by road for two hours to the residence of the suspect, identified as FR (26), in the Langkat area bordering Aceh.
“When we arrived at the suspect’s residence at midnight, in my distressed and angry state, we interrogated FR, and he confessed to receiving cash from the fraud proceeds,” Lenny explained.
“With the help of Langkat police, we eventually discovered that the scammers were inmates at Binjai Prison – they were all prisoners convicted of ecstasy smuggling who had been incarcerated since late 2024,” Lenny stated.
In executing the fraud from behind prison bars, the inmates collaborated with outside accomplices to receive the funds.
“They formed a syndicate and the fraud against me was assisted by one of their wives, FR who was outside the prison. FR was the one who received the cash from the account I transferred to,” she said.
Subsequently, FR and her husband were brought to Langkat Police Station for questioning by police.