"We arrested them on Thursday (June 25). While 20 of them were arrested at a Crown Hill residence, the remaining 38 were busted at a Palm Spring Batam Centre residence," Director of Investigation and Crime of the Riau Islands Senior Commissioner Adi Karya Tobing said here at a press conference on Friday.
The suspects recruited from Taiwan and China have legal passports and visas. They entered Indonesian territory through Jakarta.
The syndicate members have been operating in the country for as long as two months to three days.
The police also confiscated some evidence such as laptops, cell phones, soundproof booths and a 57-page list of telephone numbers.
"We are investigating this case in cooperation with the Taiwanese Police," Tobing affirmed.
Earlier, the Jakarta Metro Jaya Police had arrested 31 Chinese and Taiwanese nationals believed to be members of a cybercrime syndicate extorting money from Chinese government officials and affluent people.
The suspects, comprising 16 women and 15 men, had been arrested on Sunday (May 24) night at several places across Kemang, Jakarta.
In addition, on May 18, as many as 29 Chinese and Taiwanese nationals had been arrested at Pondok Indah, Jakarta, for the same allegation.
The foreign nationals were believed to have extorted money from Chinese government officials and wealthy people through cyber frauds.
Reporting by Larno
Uu.A059/INE
EDITED BY INE
(T.A059/B/KR-BSR/F001)
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
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