Indonesia deports 92 Chinese nationals from Batam scam network and bans them for life
The deportees, arrested in a May raid on an apartment complex housing an online investment scam operation, were flown to Guangzhou and handed to China's Ministry of Public Security for prosecution.
Indonesian immigration authorities have deported 92 Chinese nationals arrested for allegedly running an online investment scam network out of Batam, in the Riau Islands, and imposed lifetime bans on their re-entry. The group was flown to Guangzhou on July 5 on a China Southern Airlines flight from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, under escort arranged and paid for by China's Ministry of Public Security.
The 92 were among 210 people detained on May 6 in a raid on the Baloi View Apartment complex in Lubuk Baja, Batam. The others detained were nationals of Vietnam and Myanmar. Indonesian officials said the case was transferred to Chinese authorities because all identified victims were Chinese residents.
Refusing a foothold
Immigration Director General Hendarsam Marantoko said the deportations and entry bans are intended to deter foreign criminal groups from operating in Indonesia. The Batam case is at least the fourth raid on a foreign-run online scam operation in Indonesia since May, a period in which Jakarta has tightened immigration screening.
The regional pattern matters. As enforcement pressure rises in Cambodia and Myanmar, syndicates test new ground. Indonesia's response, rapid deportation with lifetime bans and direct handover to the victims' home jurisdiction, is one model for refusing them a foothold. The same week, Cambodia repatriated 79 Thai nationals detained in its own scam-network crackdown. These deportees are alleged perpetrators; the trafficked-worker population inside compounds is a separate group this desk tracks separately.