A person watches an online gambling advertisement on their tablet on June 19, 2024. The Communications and Information Ministry has blocked 2.1 million websites as part of the fight against online gambling. - Photo: Antara
JAKARTA: Batam police in the Riau Islands have arrested a woman, identified only as JW, who is suspected of sending illegal migrants to work as online gambling operators in Cambodia.
The arrest took place on Wednesday (Aug 28) at a shopping centre in Batam while JW was about to hand out two Malaysia-bound tickets to two suspected victims of human trafficking, identified only as Z and DPS.
The victims later told authorities that they were bound for Cambodia via Malaysia, with JW allegedly assisting them with departure processes.
JW faces up to 10 years imprisonment as well as a maximum penalty of Rp 15 billion (US$968,000), said police.
Thousands of people across South-East Asia have in recent years found themselves lured into the massive web of cyber scam operations, masked behind promises of well-paid jobs in countries like Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
In most cases, these victims are trafficked into the country unknowingly, then held captive and forced to defraud strangers online or operate online gambling sites.
Riau Islands Police Sr. Comr. Trisno Eko Santoso said the authorities had received a tip that the two victims were planning to meet with JW at the Mega Mall Batam Center, which also connects to the Batam Center Harbor Bay.
After watching the two victims for a period of time, authorities said they witnessed JW approaching them in a coffee shop to hand over two tickets for Malaysia, at which point police immediately intervened.
“The two victims eventually admitted that they were planning to go to Cambodia via Malaysia,” Trisno said, as quoted by kompas.com.
Leaders across the region have in the past few years intensified their efforts to jointly combat this increasingly popular human trafficking scheme, which has gained traction following the economic instability of Covid-19.
These efforts include joint investigations, data collection and exchange. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
