TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsIndonesia deports 92 Chinese nationals over alleged scam operation
The Chinese deportees are the latest to be netted in a string of raids against online scam operations involving foreign actors, with at least three such raids in various regions in May, as the government moves to tighten immigration policies to avoid Indonesia becoming a hotbed of cross-border cybercriminal activities.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
An illustration of pig butchering, a type of cyber scam that lures victims into investing in fake crypto assets (Pexels/Cottonbro Studio) (Pexels/cottonbro studio)
I
mmigration officials in Batam, the Riau Islands, have deported 92 Chinese nationals and imposed lifetime bans on traveling to the country after they were arrested for allegedly running a local scam network.
Batam Immigration Office spokesperson Kharisma Rukmana said the group was deported aboard a China Southern Airlines plane to Guangzhou that departed from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten on Sunday.
"The repatriation was carried out at the official request of the People's Republic of China through the Ministry of Public Security, which also facilitated the escort team and covered all operational costs," Kharisma told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Immigration authorities activated a special contingency protocol to handle the mass deportation, which processed the deportees separately from ordinary passengers. The protocol also involved biometric verification and security escorts to the aircraft, to ensure that the deportation proceeded smoothly without disrupting regular airport operations.
"We hope these deportations and lifetime entry bans will deter other foreign criminals from carrying out illegal activities in Indonesia. We will not tolerate foreign nationals who threaten public order and security," Immigration Director General Hendarsam Marantoko said in a statement.
He added that the government decided to deport the suspected scammers and hand them over to Chinese authorities for further legal processing because all of the victims were Chinese residents.
Read also: Seven foreigners detained in North Sumatra over alleged online dating scam operations
