ibnchannel.id – Indonesia’s Directorate General of Immigration has dismantled an international cybercrime syndicate operating an AI-assisted love scamming scheme in Tangerang, Banten. A total of 27 foreign nationals have been detained for their alleged involvement in online blackmail activities.
Acting Director General of Immigration Yuldi Yusman said the operation was launched following intensive intelligence gathering and profiling of several locations suspected of being used as cybercrime hubs.
“Our teams conducted in-depth analysis and profiling of a number of sites believed to be linked to cybercrime activities,” Yuldi said in an official statement.
The first raid took place on January 8, 2026, in Gading Serpong, where immigration officers apprehended 14 foreign nationals, consisting of 13 Chinese citizens and one Vietnamese citizen.
“They were detained while carrying out suspicious activities. At the scene, officers seized several computers, mobile phones, and two Chinese passports under the names HJ and ZR,” he said.
Investigators revealed that the syndicate operated in an organized manner and made extensive use of artificial intelligence to manipulate victims. The perpetrators targeted individuals through social media platforms and used AI-based applications, including Hello GPT, to create convincing and engaging conversations.
“The suspects used AI tools to communicate with victims, making the interactions appear natural and emotionally persuasive,” Yuldi explained.
According to him, the perpetrators then sent explicit images to lure victims into engaging in video calls.
“At that stage, the video calls were secretly recorded and later used for blackmail. Victims were threatened with the dissemination of the recordings unless they transferred a certain amount of money,” he said.
Further investigations led officers to several additional locations. On January 10, 2026, a Chinese national identified as MX was arrested at an apartment in the BSD area, South Tangerang, after being found to have overstayed for 137 days. On the same day, six more Chinese nationals were detained in Curug Sangereng, Gading Serpong, some of whom resisted arrest.
“Two of them were proven to have overstayed and attempted to deceive officers by using falsified documents,” Yuldi stated.
Another operation was carried out on January 16, 2026, resulting in the arrest of four additional Chinese nationals at a separate location in Gading Serpong.
Immigration authorities uncovered that the syndicate was controlled by a cross-border network. Funding allegedly originated from a financier in China identified as ZH, while daily operations in Indonesia were led by ZK. Field operations were managed by ZJ, also known as Titi, along with a married couple identified as CZ and BZ.
“Our ongoing investigation has identified 105 other Chinese nationals suspected of being connected to this network, all of whom have been listed as Subjects of Interest,” Yuldi said.
Two individuals from the list have already been apprehended at airports and are currently undergoing further questioning.
As of now, all 27 detained foreign nationals have been transferred to the Directorate General of Immigration for detention and intensive examination. They face serious sanctions for immigration violations and alleged involvement in cybercrime.
“The Directorate General of Immigration will continue to enforce strict supervision over the presence and activities of foreign nationals in Indonesia. We will not tolerate any actions that violate the law or threaten public security,” Yuldi said.
He added, “This operation demonstrates our firm commitment to combating transnational crime, particularly cybercrime, through strong law enforcement and coordination with relevant agencies.” ***
