Riau Police Unloaded The Higgs Domino Online Gambling Network That Turned Billions

PHOTOS OF THE Riau Police

The Directorate of Special Criminal Investigation (Ditreskrimsus) of the Riau Police revealed a large-scale online gambling network operating in Pekanbaru. The modus operandi of selling Higgs Domino Island game accounts.

Riau Deputy Police Chief Brigadier General Jossy Kusumo said that 12 people were arrested in the disclosure in two different locations.

"From the results of the investigation, this illegal activity has been running for months with a total turnover of Rp3.6 billion," Brigadier General Jossy told reporters, Wednesday, June 25.

Actions against gambling practices will continue. This is because the Riau Police are fully committed to keeping the digital space healthy and free from the increasingly rampant online gambling practices.

The Riau Police will continue to be present in the community with the spirit of protecting Tuah, Keeping Marwah. This is our commitment to safeguarding the honor of the Malay country from all forms of digital crime that destroy the minds, morals, and future of the younger generation," he said.

Meanwhile, the Director of Criminal Investigation at the Riau Police, Kombes Ade Kuncoro, explained that the disclosure of this case stems from reports from people who suspect that digital activity is striking in residential areas and shops.

"The Riau Police Cyber Team led by the Head of Sub-Directorate V Cyber, Kompol Dany Andika then carried out cyber patrols and monitored the movements of suspicious game accounts," he said.

After mapping, two locations are confirmed to be operational centers, namely a shophouse on Jalan Imam Munandar (Hope Raya), Tenayan Raya District, and a house in Pondok Mutiara Housing, Payung Sekaki District.

The arrests were made simultaneously on Thursday (19/6). From the first crime scene, officers arrested six suspects along with 102 homemade computers used to operate thousands of Domino Higgs accounts.

From the second crime scene, six other people were secured along with 18 CPU units, five cellphones, and an account book in the suspect's name.

One of the main characters in this network, Jonathan Julian Leslie alias Ko Jo, who is the owner of the main capital and controller of the business, was arrested when he only returned from Malaysia at Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport in Pekanbaru, Saturday, June 21.

Ade explained that this network is carrying out its activities systematically and professionally. The first team is tasked with creating Domino Higgs accounts, then playing the game continuously to obtain chip chips.

The chips collected were then sent to the second location for further processing.

At the second TKP, the accounts were stopped up, played again to reach a certain level, and after the chip reached a minimum amount of 1B (one billion), it was sold to the market for IDR 25 thousand.

The average sales per day reached one trillion chips or around Rp. 25 million. In the last five months, the total turnover of this chip sales is estimated at Rp. 3.6 billion. This is clearly a form of online gambling packaged in digital games, and is very damaging to generations," said Ade.

The suspects have now been named as perpetrators of criminal acts and charged with Article 45 paragraph (3) in conjunction with Article 27 paragraph (2) of the Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 1 of 2024 concerning the Second Amendment to the ITE Law, in conjunction with Article 303 of the Criminal Code concerning gambling, and Article 55 of the Criminal Code concerning Participation.

The penalty imposed is a maximum imprisonment of six years and a maximum fine of Rp. 1 billion.

In addition to confiscating evidence and examining the suspects, investigators have also coordinated with the public prosecutor and digital forensic experts.

The further steps being taken include tracing crime proceeds (tracing) assets, blocking related accounts, and developing other possible actors in this network.