INCIDENCE OF INT'L CYBERCRIME SYNDICATES USING RI AS BASE INCREASES By Fardah

Jakarta, Sept 12, 2015 (Antara) - The Jakarta Metropolitan police has confirmed that more and more international crime syndicates are using Indonesia as one of their bases for carrying out cybercrimes.

         "Indonesia is no longer a destination for transnational crimes, but has slowly transformed into a hub for the operations of international crime syndicates," the Director of General Crime Investigation for the Jakarta Metropolitan Police Command, Senior Commissioner Krishna Murti, stated on Aug. 20.

         He said several crime syndicates had entered Indonesia, organized their activities, rented places, and carried out criminal acts.

         "The criminals are recruited from China, and the main players are members of Yakuza, Japan," he revealed.

         The police officer also revealed that big syndicates were controlled from Taiwan and other places, including from Indonesia, China, and Japan.

         Murti drew this conclusion following a number of raids conducted on mostly young Chinese nationals, who were illegally residing in luxurious houses in Jakarta and were found to be equipped with various Internet-based and phone equipment.
    On Aug. 20, for example, the Jakarta Metro Jaya Police detained 91 Chinese and Taiwanese nationals for allegedly committing transnational cybercrimes from Jakarta.

         "The Metro Jaya Police, in cooperation with the International Police, uncovered a human trafficking syndicate and fraud targeting Taiwanese and Chinese nationals," Senior Commissioner Murti said.

          Of the 91 detainees, 36 were arrested in Ancol and 55 from Adiyaksa Raya Street, North Jakarta.

          The Chinese were recruited in Jakarta by fellow foreigners to conduct cybercrimes targeting the Taiwanese and Chinese in their countries by using computers and phones.

          The Jakarta police suspected that they were recruited by a Japanese syndicate.

          Earlier, the Metro Jaya police had detained Cen, a Taiwanese national, and WA, an Indonesian, for allegedly facilitating the involvement of the Chinese in cybercrimes in Jakarta.

          The police had handled the case in coordination with the Justice and Human Rights Ministry`s immigration office.

          In July, North Jakarta Police arrested 31 Chinese and Taiwanese nationals from the Penjaringan area for staying illegally in the country.

          "They are illegals as they do not have documents for staying here. It is being investigated," the Head of the North Jakarta Police resort, Senior Commissioner Susetio Cahyadi said.

          While raiding the rented house, the police recovered 1.49 grams of methamphetamine and data containing foreign phone number codes.
     The police also seized laptops, routers, modems, walkie-talkies and recorders from them.

          The police suspected that they were part of an international cyber crime syndicate targeting foreigners overseas.

          An officer from the North Jakarta immigration office, David Elang, said the Chinese citizens had stayed in Indonesia for 20 days, beginning July 20.

          He said the Indonesian authorities had contacted their Chinese counterparts to further investigate the cyber crimes.

          In May, the south Jakarta police officers raided a house in Cilandak Timur, which was inhabited by 33 Chinese citizens, comprising 14 females and 19 males, who were suspected of being part of a cybercrime syndicate.

          "Officers will evaluate their immigration documents," the Head of the South Jakarta Immigration, Chief Cucu Koswala, had stated in Jakarta.

          Later in the same month, 30 more Chinese and Taiwanese were arrested from a shop house in North Jakarta.

          The foreigners said that each of them were paid Rp 4 million (US$303) per month to run a cybercrime operations from Indonesia. A coordinator overseeing the operation received higher payments.

   
Jakarta Police's criminal investigator, Director Sr. Comr Heru Pranoto said they had been brought to Jakarta to extort state officials in China.

          "During our preliminary investigation, each of them admitted to being paid Rp 4 million a month to extort money. We will investigate the case further," he was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Post.

          Heru said the police would coordinate with its counterparts in China and other Chinese-speaking countries in the near future, and predicted that there were more people involved in the crime.

          Not only in Jakarta, immigration authorities in Bali had arrested 47 Chinese and one Taiwanese national for conducting suspicious activities.

          They were arrested, along with 55 laptops, 27 mobile phones, 59 modems and other electronic appliances from a villa located in Jimbaran, Badung district, the Head of the Immigration Office at Ngurah Rai Airport, Tieldwight Sabaru, said on Aug. 22.

          "Based on the evidence, they are believed to have committed international cybercrimes during their stay in Bali," he pointed out.

          The Chinese and Taiwanese nationals have also violated their permits of stay, he added.

          The immigration authorities are intensively interrogating them to find out the extent of the cybercrimes committed by them, Sabaru said.

          Security cyber experts, Pratama Persadha recently told Republika daily that Indonesia had become a favorite place to conduct cybercrimes because the country's laws had many loopholes that could be exploited.

          Moreover, less stringent immigration access made it easier for criminals to enter Indonesia, he said. ***2***
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(T.F001/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 12-09-2015 22:36:45