Police Uncover Swallow's Nest Business Scam in Central Java, Victims Lose Rp 78 Billion

Central Java Police (Polda Jateng) have arrested a man identified as JS (36) for allegedly conducting fraud in the swallow’s nest business. JS’s actions are said to have caused losses to victims amounting to Rp 78 billion. According to detikJateng on Wednesday (1/4/2026), Polda Jateng stated that JS carried out the fraud from April 2022 until July 2025. The Director of Criminal Investigation at Polda Jateng, Senior Commissioner Djoko Julianto, said that JS enticed victims with promises of substantial profits. “The modus operandi involved offering enticements of two to three times the initial capital,” Djoko stated. Djoko explained that initially, the perpetrator approached a company commissioner for a swallow’s nest trading business. To convince the victim, the perpetrator sent several photos of the locations. “He offered enticements and information to the victim, making it seem as though he was the perpetrator who could export to China. This is what the perpetrator always conveyed to the reporter, making him feel tempted and interested in making the investment proposed by the perpetrator,” he said. The interested victim then transferred money to a fictitious account created by the suspect. The victim continued to make transfers because the suspect claimed there were new swallow’s nest locations for investment development. However, the promised profits from JS never materialised. The victim then reported the matter to the police. After investigation, it was revealed that part of the fraud proceeds were spent by JS on purchasing cars. At least nine car units were bought by the perpetrator from the fictitious investment, including a white Mercedes Benz GLE 450 with licence plate S-333-A and a white Toyota Alphard with licence plate H-1158-FV.