Jakarta. The Jakarta Metro Police conducted a raid on an online gambling office situated in a three-story shop in the Grand Galaxy City area of Bekasi, West Java, on Friday. Authorities revealed that several employees from the Communication and Digital Affairs Ministry served as facilitators for the gambling operations.
During the operation, officers arrested a male suspect who guided them through various rooms in the facility, which included a workspace on the second floor and a computer room on the third floor.
The suspect revealed that the office operated with eight employees managing online gambling sites, working from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. He explained their role involved compiling a list of online gambling websites for blocking, claiming to have identified around 5,000 sites.
When questioned by the police, the suspect said that approximately 1,000 of these sites were being “secured” to prevent them from being blocked. He disclosed that he received Rp 8.5 million per site for these services.
Jakarta Metro Police spokesman Ade Ary Syam reported that 11 individuals have been designated as suspects in this case, including several employees from the Communication and Digital Affairs Ministry. Some of these individuals are accused of misusing their authority, which was intended for blocking online gambling sites, to facilitate operations instead.
“These individuals had full authority to block websites, but they abused this power. If they were familiar with certain sites, they wouldn’t block them,” Ade Ary explained.
In the wake of the police’s actions, Communications Minister Meutya Hafid met with President Prabowo Subianto to discuss her staff’s involvement in the online gambling case. Meutya emphasized the importance of her department’s full cooperation with law enforcement during the investigation and praised the swift legal actions taken against those involved.
“I have instructed all personnel within the ministry to cooperate with law enforcement if there are indications of involvement in online gambling,” Meutya stated.
She also expressed her support for President Prabowo’s directives to combat illegal activities, including online gambling, which harm the public and undermine national values. Meutya stressed the commitment to enforcing the law impartially, regardless of the suspects’ positions.
Furthermore, Meutya assured that all civil servants within the ministry had signed an integrity pact aimed at combating online gambling. “We will be firm and serious in addressing all criminal violations, especially those related to online gambling, to protect the public in the digital space,” she concluded.
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