Police in Indonesia take down illegal gambling ring

• Operation against illegal gambling in Indonesia saw police raid a number of locations
• The crackdown saw 22 people arrested and different equipment seized
• The suspects allegedly helped promote two illegal gambling websites and the illegal operation generated hundreds of billions of Indonesian Rupiah

A large-scale police operation against illegal gambling in Indonesia resulted in the arrest of a couple of dozen suspects.

Nearly two dozen suspects were arrested and charged

Law enforcement conducted raids at a number of locations in Bekasi, Bogor, Denpasar and Tangerang.

Interestingly, police uncovered that the illegal gambling operation wasn't only local but had ties to China, as well as Cambodia.

The unlawful gambling network was reportedly able to generate hundreds of billions of Indonesian Rupiah.

As announced in a report by the local news outlet, Antara News, a total of 22 suspects were arrested during the recent raids.

The large-scale police operation was completed by the National Police (Polri), after an investigation by the National Police's Criminal Investigation Agency's Directorate of General Crimes.

Besides detaining nearly two dozen suspects, law enforcement uncovered and seized 354 mobile phones, a couple of dozen computers, 18 ATM cards, as well as a car, modem and more than 2,600 SIM cards used for the promotion of illegal gambling.

Reportedly, the suspects who were recently arrested are facing a range of charges under the Criminal Code in Indonesia.

Charges under the country's Electronic Information and Transactions Act carry punishments of up to six years in prison and a fine of Rp1bn ($61,300).

On the other hand, charges under the Law on Prevention and Eradication of Money Laundering carry penalties of fines up to Rp1bn ($61,300) and imprisonment between five and 15 years.

In other words, if found guilty, some suspects may face lengthy prison sentences and hefty fines for their involvement in the illegal gambling operation.

The unlawful gambling operation generated significant sums despite operating for less than a year

Brigadier General Djuhandhani Rahardjo Puro, who was recently quoted by the local media outlet, confirmed that the 22 individuals who were recently arrested held roles such as financial administrators, server managers and operators.

He outlined: "Each day, the operators could create up to 500 WhatsApp accounts to send thousands of promotional messages offering easy deposits and guaranteed winnings."

Equally as concerning, Puro said that the proceeds from the illegal gambling activity were in the hundreds of billions of rupiah, despite operating for less than a year.

An investigation identified that the suspects used SIM card numbers and created WhatsApp accounts, which were subsequently used to promote two illegal gambling websites.

The police investigation also uncovered that the illegal gambling ring was tied to gambling agents in China and Cambodia, where the server hosts were located. It is unclear if any suspects in the two aforementioned countries were detained.

Earning millions of rupiah, the group laundered the money via bank deposits in the name of third parties.

Some of the proceeds were also converted to cryptocurrency as a way to cover the source of funds.

Image credit: Pixabay.com