Indonesian police display evidence before authorities held a press conference following the arrest of dozens of suspects in an online fraud case in Surabaya (Photo by Juni Kriswanto / AFP)
Batam, Indonesia: Indonesian authorities said on Friday they had arrested more than 200 foreign nationals near the island of Sumatra this week for allegedly running an investment scamming ring.
Immigration officers raided an apartment building in Batam, in Riau Islands Province, on Wednesday, where they found 210 foreigners and seized hundreds of computers and cellphones.
They arrested 125 Vietnamese nationals, 84 Chinese, and one person from Myanmar, immigration boss Hendarsam Marantoko told reporters in Batam.
Those arrested included 47 women.
An examination of the seized computers and cellphones suggested the group was engaged in online investment fraud or scam trading, said Yuldi Yusman, another official at the Indonesian immigration office.
"The victims were mostly located in Europe and Vietnam," he said.
The suspects are being held at an immigration detention centre and face deportation and a ban from Indonesia, Yuldi said
