North Sumatra and Central Java police arrest 15 in gambling cases

Separate gambling operations in North Sumatra and Central Java led to 15 arrests, police officials said. In the Central Java cases, investigators also froze bank accounts whose combined balance was Rp2.46 billion. Five cashiers were detained in Medan, and their manager has not been caught.

The raid in Medan took place at unit 2220 of Grand Jati Junction Apartment, carried out by North Sumatra Police's Cyber Crimes Investigation Directorate, known as Ressiber. Senior Commissioner Bayu Wicaksono, who heads the directorate, said the cashiers had worked in Cambodia before their manager, Wendi, asked them to come back to Medan. The group set up an online gambling business called Depo Bos.

Bayu said the business started on 8 October and that police raided the premises on 12 October. During what he described as 5 days of operation, the group recruited 30 players, he said. HH, MRL, RHS, SH and WAS, the cashiers, each received Rp10 million (US$553) monthly plus bonuses for meeting targets. Their duties included checking deposits and withdrawals through the website interface before requests were passed to the administrator.

Five mobile phones, three laptops and three ATM cards were seized by the officers. Bayu said the cashiers had links to Cambodia-based operators, and the search for Wendi continued.

North Sumatra Police spokesman Senior Commissioner Ferry Walintukan said investigators were looking into the network's structure and whether other parties were involved. The cashiers face charges under Article 426(1) of the 2023 Criminal Code, which carries a maximum prison term of 9 years.

Another Cambodia-linked syndicate at the Royal Condominium in Medan was raided by Ressiber detectives in March. Officers detained 19 suspects, including 8 women, and that operation had run for 2 years.

Central Java Police chief Inspector-General Roy Hardi Siahaan, newly appointed to the post, said officers raided togel operations on 9-10 October in Semarang, Demak, and Grobogan. Togel draws on foreign lottery results, he explained, among them those from Singapore, Hong Kong, and Sydney.

Five people were detained on the evening of 9 October at a rental house on Jl Batan Miroto in Semarang. Selling and collecting coupons and acting as croupiers were among their roles. Police confiscated 43,250 coupons and cash worth Rp19.65 million (US$1,085), and froze five bank accounts worth Rp1.94 billion that were suspected to be involved in the scheme.

In Demak, officers carried out a raid in the early hours of 10 October. Three people were taken into custody, among them individuals who gathered funds from members of the public as well as togel sellers. The police confiscated 8,416 coupons and blocked accounts that held Rp519.99 million. Once seized cash and net gambling profits are left out, the total frozen balance came to Rp2.46 billion. Detectives further followed money flows worth billions of rupiah.

Police in the Godong district, Grobogan, arrested 2 alleged couriers who were transporting togel coupons from the Demak operation to retailers in Grobogan. A Daihatsu Gran Max minivan was being used to carry the coupons. Two safe deposit boxes containing 421 stacks of togel coupons were also seized by officers.

Roy said the operations were meant to tackle gambling and to identify those involved behind the scenes, and he added that enforcement would proceed without favouritism.