Three Sister University Students Caught in Bali Online Gambling Syndicate, Working 12 Hours to Recruit Victims
The lure of high salaries drew three sister former university students into an online gambling (judol) network in Bali. They were apprehended at a house on Jalan Pratama Gang Hasan No 3, Benoa, Kuta Selatan, Badung, while acting as telemarketing operators for a gambling website.
Bali Police’s Cyber Crime Directorate Director, Kombes Aszhari Kurniawan, revealed that the three suspects are IJT alias Gisel (23), RFT alias Selena (22), and MGB alias Aleta (22).
“Based on our examination, all three are indeed students. However, they are no longer attending university,” Aszhari stated when contacted on Wednesday (29/4/2026).
Aszhari explained that IJT had been in Bali since 21 January 2026 with other suspects and had been working in the online gambling syndicate.
Meanwhile, RFT and MGB are IJT’s blood sisters. The two previously worked as shopkeepers in Jakarta before deciding to follow their sister to Bali in February 2026.
“After learning that their sister was in Bali, the two came of their own accord and then joined in the activity,” he said.
In their operations, the three former students acted as telemarketers for the ketua.co online gambling site. They were tasked with contacting hundreds of Indonesian citizens’ phone numbers provided by their leader.
Each day, they contacted around 300 to 400 numbers randomly to offer access to online gambling. If a potential player responded, the suspects would send a download link for the application via WhatsApp.
The three worked 12 hours a day, from 11:00 Wita to 23:00 Wita, from a location serving as the operational base in the Benoa area.
“They admitted to being tempted by the substantial salary and bonuses. Economic factors were one of the reasons for their involvement,” Aszhari clarified.
It is known that the network includes a leader with initials PNJ, suspected to be a Chinese national located in Cambodia as the controller of the ketua.co site. The suspects worked based on instructions from the higher network.