Polri has successfully repatriated nine Indonesian citizens (WNI) who were victims of human trafficking (TPPO) through online scams from Cambodia on December 26, 2025. The victims were initially lured with promises of computer operator jobs but forced into online scamming. They escaped and sought help from the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh after enduring physical and psychological violence.
The case came to light after the Polri Labor Desk received reports from victims' parents on December 8, 2025, followed by social media information including a viral video made by the victims begging for repatriation help. Investigation began on December 15, 2025, coordinating with Cambodian Immigration authorities. Director of Specific Crimes (Dirtipidter) Bareskrim Polri, Brigjen Pol. Moh. Irhamni, explained the chronology during a press conference at the Bareskrim Polri Building in Jakarta on Friday night, December 26, 2025.
The victims, consisting of three women and six men from West Java, DKI Jakarta, North Sumatra, North Sulawesi, as well as other areas like Riau and Lampung, were recruited through promises of computer operator jobs with a salary of Rp9 million per month. The sponsor handled passports, visas, and tickets, so the victims were unaware of the destination details. Upon arriving at Phnom Penh Airport, their passports were confiscated, and they were transported by land for four hours to an unknown location in Cambodia.
There, the victims were forced to conduct online scams and online gambling administration. If they failed to meet targets, they were punished with push-ups, sit-ups, and running hundreds of times on a futsal field. The site leaders were foreign nationals from China. One victim, Aisyah, was six months pregnant.
The victims escaped in late November 2025 during loose supervision, such as while eating out, and met at the Indonesian Embassy in Phnom Penh. They stayed together out of fear. Repatriation was carried out through cooperation between the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kemlu RI), KBRI Phnom Penh, and Bareskrim Polri, involving deportation processes and issuance of Travel Documents in Lieu of Passports (SPLP) for six WNI. They arrived at Soekarno-Hatta Airport that evening via commercial flight.
Kemlu RI has recorded over 10,000 online scam cases involving Indonesians since 2020, though not all are TPPO. A warning was issued to be cautious of overseas job offers without official procedures.
