Police in Medan, Indonesia, say they have taken down an online gambling syndicate with alleged ties to Cambodia.
The North Sumatra Regional Police Force’s Cyber Investigation Directorate said the gambling ring operating out of three rooms in an apartment block on the busy commercial street Jalan Palang Merah, in downtown Medan, the Indonesian media outlet Kompas reported.
Officers said they raided this apartment block on the evening of March 16. Detectives said they made 19 arrests as part of two separate investigations. A court in the city ordered police to remand the group in custody.
Two siblings oversaw operations in one of the rooms, police said. Their suspected subordinates worked in various technical roles or as marketers for online casinos, detectives added.
Online Gambling Syndicate: Police Make 19 Arrests
Officers say one of the arrestees was the mastermind who orchestrated the entire syndicate, personally recruiting all of the other suspects.
The syndicate managed to operate for around two years without attracting police attention. The gang used a range of high-tech tools to help avoid detection, a police spokesperson said.
“We are still investigating the possibility this syndicate was operating as part of a wider network,” the same official said. “We are investigating possible links with foreign networks and other parties.”
One of the arrestees “previously worked in Cambodia,” said the official, who added that the investigation remains ongoing.
Civil Servants Fired for ‘Gambling Violations’
All forms of gambling remain illegal in Indonesia, with police and public prosecutors stepping up their crackdown on online casinos.
Indonesian officials have blamed online betting portals for a vast array of social ills, including rising hospital bed occupancy numbers and spiraling divorce rates.
In the city of Jambi, Sumatra, local government officials say they have removed four civil servants from their posts.
The quartet reportedly took out illegal online loans wagered via the internet, in violation of the civil service code, the Indonesian media outlet Detik reported.
The Jambi mayor’s office said that it would “not hesitate to impose sanctions” on the civil servants. The office said that incidents of this sort “not only damage performance, but also destroy public trust.”
The office warned all Jambi civil servants to “avoid negative activities, such as web-based gambling and online loans.”
In Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi Province, police have accused a man of fabricating a report about a mugging to cover the traces of his online gambling habits.
The man told police a gang of motorcycle-riding thugs had robbed him in the street, stealing his money.
The man later admitted, during police questioning, that he had made the story up to escape a “scolding” from his wife.
