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Indonesian Police Detain 321 Foreign Nationals in Jakarta Online Gambling Operation
Authorities detained 228 Vietnamese and 57 Chinese nationals among 321 foreigners at a commercial building near Jakarta’s Chinatown district. The syndicate operated at least 75 betting platforms for two months targeting players outside Indonesia. Police are tracing organizers while similar transnational operations continue to surface across the country.
IN
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Indonesian police arrested 321 foreign nationals in a raid on an alleged online gambling operation at a commercial building near Jakarta’s Chinatown district, one of the country’s largest crackdowns on illegal digital betting networks. The raid occurred Saturday with arrests reported across May 9 and 10, 2026. Of those detained, 228 were Vietnamese nationals and 57 were Chinese nationals.
The remainder originated from Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia. Wira Satya Triputra, director of general crimes with the Indonesian National Police, said investigators described the location as a hub for over 70 online gambling websites targeting players outside Indonesia. Authorities believe the group operated at least 75 betting platforms.
Police estimate the syndicate had been active for approximately two months. "We arrested the suspects in the act while they were carrying out activities related to online gambling," Triputra told a news conference on Saturday. He detailed a highly structured hierarchy with workers assigned to customer service, telemarketing and financial administration.
Many of the suspects entered Indonesia on short-term visitor visas and overstayed their permits. Immigration violations were uncovered in addition to suspected gambling and money-laundering offenses. As of Saturday, 275 of those detained have been formally named as suspects.
Police seized cash in multiple currencies, computers, mobile phones, passports and other equipment. Efforts are ongoing to trace the organisers and financial backers behind the network, Triputra stated. Those charged could face up to nine years in prison and a fine of 2 billion rupiah, which equals £84,000 or $116,000.
Untung Widyatmoko, secretary of Indonesia’s Interpol bureau, said similar transnational crime operations have been uncovered in recent months in Surabaya, Bali and Batam. "After enforcement measures in Cambodia, we started to see a shift toward Indonesia, and that was something we anticipated," Widyatmoko said.
