December 27, 2025 | 02:19 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim), in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has repatriated nine Indonesian citizens who were victims of human trafficking in Cambodia.
Authorities are now investigating the recruitment network operating in Indonesia.
“The recruiters are based in Indonesia. We are currently conducting an investigation to identify their locations,” said Brigadier General Mohammad Irhamni, Head of the Police Employment Desk, during a press briefing at the Bareskrim building on Friday, December 26, 2025.
Irhamni explained that the recruiters sent workers to Cambodia to work as online gambling and scam operators. They were offered full accommodation and promised salaries of up to Rp9 million (around US$600) per month as computer operators.
However, upon arrival, the Indonesian workers were forced into scam and gambling operations.
Some of the operators’ employers are reportedly Chinese nationals. “The bosses are from abroad, specifically China. They are not local Cambodian residents,” Irhamni added.
The nine repatriated victims include three women and six men from West Java, Jakarta, North Sumatra, and North Sulawesi.
One of the female victims is six months pregnant. Authorities confirmed that all victims returned to Indonesia in good health.
The trafficking case came to light after a video depicting the victims’ conditions went viral on social media. Following this, the parents of one of the victims filed a report with Bareskrim.
The police team had departed for Cambodia on December 15, 2025, to rescue the victims and investigate the alleged human trafficking network.
Authorities are examining potential violations of Article 4 of Law Number 21 of 2007 on the Eradication of Trafficking in Persons and Article 81 of Law Number 18 of 2017 on the Protection of Migrant Workers.
“We will pursue the recruiters, team leaders, and the bosses who profit from this illegal work,” Irhamni emphasized.
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