Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian National Police (Polri) revealed that several individuals recently busted for running online gambling sites based in China and Cambodia had each amassed up to Rp20 billion (US$1.2 million).

According to Director of General Crimes at Polri’s Criminal Investigation Directorate (Bareskrim) Brigadier General Djuhandhani Rahardjo Puro, they were arrested during raids across Tangerang, Banten, as well as Bogor and Bekasi, West Java.

He highlighted that the raids led to the arrest of 22 suspects, including a financial administrator identified by the initials NKP, as well as RA, DN, and AN, who managed the servers and handled marketing for the sites.

“The server and marketing handlers in each raided location reaped profits worth between Rp15 billion and Rp20 billion within about 10 months,” Puro noted in a statement in Jakarta on Sunday.

These key perpetrators employed the other suspects as operators, who received monthly salaries ranging from Rp7 million (US$428) to Rp10 million (US$612), he added.

“These suspects ran online gambling websites branded as Akasia899 and Tanjung899, which were hosted on servers based in China and Cambodia,” Puro elaborated.

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He went on to explain that the detainees misused Indonesian SIM card numbers to create WhatsApp accounts used to broadcast advertisements for the gambling sites to millions of phone numbers.

“Each day, the operators could create up to 500 WhatsApp accounts and broadcast thousands of promotional messages encouraging people to deposit their money with promises of guaranteed wins,” he pointed out.

Furthermore, he noted that the suspects used bank accounts registered under other people’s names to conceal their earnings, which were then laundered through conversion into cryptocurrency disguised as payments for goods.

During coordinated raids carried out on June 13, the police seized 354 mobile phones, 23 personal computers, a car, a modem, 2,648 SIM cards from various providers, and 18 ATM cards.

The suspects face multiple charges under Indonesia’s Criminal Code, including a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment or fines of up to Rp25 million (around US$1,536).

They are also being charged under the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law, which carries a sentence of up to six years and a fine of Rp1 billion (over US$61,000).

Moreover, their action might constitute a violation of Law No. 8 of 2020 regarding the Prevention and Eradication of Money Laundering Crimes, which carries prison terms of five to 15 years and fines of up to Rp1 billion.

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