Police Secure 321 Foreign Nationals, Unexpected Office Building Turns Out to Be Online Gambling Headquarters
Indonesian police have secured hundreds of foreign nationals (WNA) suspected of involvement in online gambling (judol) activities in an office complex in the Hayam Wuruk area, West Jakarta. The criminal activities in the office complex were highly unexpected.
“The situation in this building indeed, from the outside, was not at all suspected to contain criminal activities, in this case online gambling,” said Secretary of NCB Interpol Divhubinter Polri Brigadier General Untung Widyatmoko to reporters at the location on Saturday (9/5/2026).
At the location, police secured 321 foreign nationals from various countries. He stated that Polri continues to combat this cross-border crime case.
He said Indonesia is vulnerable to becoming a base for international network criminals such as love scamming, bogus online investments, to online gambling. This situation occurs after transnational crime perpetrators are cracked down on in their home countries.
As is known, the Indo-China region, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, which have long been bases for recruitment and online criminal acts targeting transnational operations and victims who are foreign nationals (WNA),” he said.
“After being cracked down on, there has been a shift to Indonesia. And that has certainly been anticipated and predicted by us, as we know that we have conducted various arrests and revelations starting from Surabaya, Denpasar, Surakarta, Yogyakarta, Batam, Sukabumi, and Bogor,” he added.
75 Online Gambling Sites Found
Polri found dozens of judol sites managed by the foreign nationals. The perpetrators also camouflaged using certain character combinations and gambling label variables on the judol site addresses to avoid blocking.
“From the examination results, investigators have found 75 domains and websites suspected of being used as online gambling facilities,” said Dirtipidum Bareskrim Polri Brigadier General Wira Satya Triputra at the same location.
From the location, police seized various types of evidence, namely safes, passports, mobile phones, laptops, PCs, and cash in various currencies. He said the perpetrators are charged under Articles 426 and/or 607 in conjunction with Articles 20 and/or 21 of Law No. 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code and Law No. 1 of 2026 on Criminal Adjustment.
Of the 321 foreign nationals secured, consisting of 57 Chinese nationals, 228 Vietnamese nationals, 11 Laotian nationals, 13 Myanmar nationals, 3 Malaysian nationals, 5 Thai nationals, 3 Cambodian nationals. The perpetrators were caught in the act while conducting online gambling.