Three Foreigners Arrested in Bali for Creating Pornographic Content Using Ride-hailing Jackets; Two Apprehended at Airport

Three foreign nationals have been arrested in Bali after producing pornographic content whilst wearing ride-hailing (ojek) uniforms. Two of them were apprehended whilst attempting to flee the country.

“In this case, we have identified three perpetrators. The offence was committed using the modus operandi and motivation of seeking profit from video and pornographic content,” stated Badung Police Chief AKBP Joseph Edward Purba during a press conference at his office on Tuesday, 17 March 2026.

The three suspects—MMZL (a woman from France), NB (a man from Italy), and ERB (a man from Italy)—have been designated as suspects. In the explicit video, MMZL and NB performed as the content creators, whilst ERB served as manager and uploaded the content to adult platforms.

“To attract attention or make it go viral, they used a ride-hailing jacket. So it was a foreign national from Italy wearing it, not a local,” explained Joseph.

The ride-hailing jacket was purchased by the suspects from a shop for 300,000 rupiah. The aim was to make the content go viral by leading the public to believe the perpetrators were ride-hailing drivers.

The arrests began when the cybercrime unit conducted profiling of a viral video suspected to have been produced within Badung Police jurisdiction on Friday, 13 March. Police subsequently interviewed an actual ride-hailing driver whose services had frequently been used by suspect MMZL whilst in Bali.

The driver was also often accused by netizens of being the performer in the pornographic video, having previously transported the suspects to various locations. The pair had even collaborated in creating humorous content related to ride-hailing on social media through the driver’s account @ojolmagank.

“The criminal investigation unit of Badung Police conducted profiling regarding viral pornographic content circulating on social media. Subsequently, the unit interrogated a ride-hailing driver witness who had previously created content together with the suspected perpetrators,” stated Joseph.

After obtaining the suspects’ identities, police coordinated with immigration authorities to locate them. Suspects MMZL and NB were found attempting to flee the country and were apprehended at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport. The content manager was arrested in the Canggu area, Kuta Utara, Badung, on Monday, 16 March.

“Upon receiving information that two suspected perpetrators were about to fly out of Bali Province, the suspects were secured and brought to Badung Police headquarters for further processing,” concluded Joseph.