Police Nab 48 Chinese Syndicates over Blackmailing on Matchmaking App

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta Metro Police arrested 48 foreign nationals; Chinese and Taiwanese, involved in a case of fraud and extortion through a matchmaking app.

The police chief of public relations department, Brig. Gen. Yusri Yunus, said their target were Chinese and Taiwanese people but they operate in Indonesia. "As for now, [it is suspected that] the victims are in China and Taiwan. But it is possible there are victims in Indonesia," he said Saturday, Nov. 13.

The investigaton was started when the authorities received information from the Taiwan Police about the group operating in Indonesia. The Indonesian Police, in coordination with the Taiwanese Police, caught the perpetrators at three locations, namely in Jalan Cengkeh, Mangga Besar, and Mediterania Complex in West Jakarta on Friday night, Nov. 12.

All 48 suspects, 44 men and 4 women, were nabbed in a shophouse where they reside. "Some of them are Chinese and Vietnamese citizens," Yusri explained.

Based on the initial investigation, they had been conducting the activities since August 2021. The police confiscated several laptops, hundreds of cellphones, a computer, and cash in yen and rupiah.

They are charged with information and electronic transaction law (ITE Law).
Jakarta immigration division chief, Saffar Muhammad Godam, said the perpetrators are curently being detained. The authorities are waiting for further coordination and investigating of possible immigration violation.

Read: Police Nab 10 Fugitives of Human Trafficking, Umrah Fraud Cases

ADAM PRIREZA