Overview
- Indonesia’s immigration service will evaluate visa-free entry for some Southeast Asian nationals following last week’s arrests of more than 500 foreigners in linked raids in Jakarta and Batam.
- Police say the Jakarta site housed a large online gambling operation staffed by 321 foreign nationals, and officers seized phones, passports, laptops, computers and cash in several currencies.
- Investigators are interrogating detainees and running digital forensics to track money flows, servers and IPs to identify sponsors, and they plan to summon the Hayam Wuruk Plaza Tower owner.
- The immigration chief said many suspects entered using visa waivers or visas on arrival, and recent weeks brought more than 6,700 enforcement actions including over 2,000 deportations and permit cancellations.
- A senior lawmaker urged a push to the financiers behind the ring, as officials and reporters note syndicates displaced from regional hubs are moving operations to Indonesia.