BATAM: Indonesian authorities have detained about 200 foreigners – most of them Chinese nationals – after raiding a Batam apartment complex allegedly used for cross-border online scam operations.
Immigration officers carried out the pre-dawn raid at Baloi View Apartment, which also functions as a hotel, on Wednesday (May 6).
Most of those rounded up are Chinese nationals, while the rest are from the Philippines and Vietnam, said Guntur Sahat Hamonangan, head of the Riau Islands Immigration Office.
“The preliminary figure is around 200 people (detained) but the exact figure is still being verified,” he said on Wednesday, as quoted by local news outlet Kompas.
Those nabbed are suspected of carrying out illegal activities, such as romance scams, online gambling and e-commerce phishing, which uses deceptive links to obtain users’ data, the Jakarta Post reported.
Officers also seized hundreds of electronic devices, including mobile phones, laptops, network equipment and portable servers.
Access to the premises has been blocked off as authorities investigate the case, the Jakarta Post reported.
