A sting operation has identified 91 men and 12 women with hundreds of devices, accused of cross-border cyber fraud and visa violations.
Indonesian immigration authorities have announced that they have arrested 103 Taiwanese passport holders suspected of running a cybercrime operation from Bali.
Immigration officers on the popular holiday island raided a villa in Tabanan district on Wednesday, arresting 12 women and 91 men in possession of hundreds of mobile phones and other electronic devices.
They were suspected of carrying out “cybercrime-related activities” and “abusing their visas” and will be deported, Bali’s immigration director Saffar Muhammad Godam said at a news conference on Friday as he displayed laptops and routers.
Indonesian authorities could not charge them because the alleged crimes did not fall within their jurisdiction, targeting individuals outside the country, but they were “working closely” with relevant authorities, including those in Malaysia, he said. he declares.
Authorities distributed photos showing dozens of detainees lying face down next to a swimming pool and a three-story villa. All are being held in a detention center in Denpasar, Bali, subject to “administrative immigration measures”, Godam said.
Indonesia is investigating whether the group could have links to international unions.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry said its de facto embassy in the country had been informed that of the 103 people arrested, only 14 were suspected of being Taiwanese.
The proliferation of cyber fraud The presence of terrorist groups across Southeast Asia has become a growing concern, and authorities in countries including China, Indonesia and Malaysia have stepped up efforts to stop them.
Indonesia, thanks to information provided by Chinese authorities, has already faced international cybercrime networks targeting victims in China.
In 2018, police in Bali arrested 103 Chinese nationals, along with 11 Indonesians allegedly working for them, for running a multimillion-dollar cyber fraud syndicate targeting wealthy businessmen and politicians in China.
It came a year after authorities deported 153 Chinese nationals involved in a ring accused of fraudulently impersonating Chinese police or justice officials that netted about 6 trillion rupiah ($367 million) since late 2016.
