inp.polri.go.id - Jakarta. The Yogyakarta Sub-regional City Police have uncovered an alleged international love scam syndicate operating in Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta.
Yogyakarta Sub-regional City Police Chief, Senior Superintendent Eva Guna Pandia, explained that the fraud was uncovered after a sting operation at the PT Altair Trans Service office on Gito Gati street, Ngaglik District, Sleman Regency, on Monday (1/5/2026).
"The office is suspected of being used as the base operation for the alleged love scam," said the Police Chief on Wednesday (1/7/2026).
From the investigation, six suspects have been named: R (35) as CEO or company owner; H (33) as HRD; P (28) and M (28) as project managers; and V (28) and G (22) as team leaders.
Altair Trans Service, Yogyakarta Branch, is a company engaged in providing labor to clients or app owners from China.
According to Chief Pandia, the scammers exploited an online dating app, a clone of a Chinese app called WOW.
The company employed employees as chat admins, posing as women to match the victim's or user's country of origin.
They enticed users to buy coins or top up their accounts to send gifts available within the app.
"The users were foreign nationals from several countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia," said Pandia.
After users sent gifts, they then gradually sent content in the form of pornographic photos and videos.
"To access the photos and videos, users or victims had to send gifts of a certain amount," explained the Police Chief.
From the company, police confiscated four CCTV cameras, two WiFi routers, 30 mobile phones, and 50 laptops suspected of being used as a means of committing the crime. They found various pornographic photos and videos inside.
In addition to the evidence, 64 employees were detained for further questioning. Based on the results of the questioning, investigators then named six individuals as suspects.
For their actions, the suspects were charged under several articles, including Article 407 or Article 492 of the Criminal Code as stipulated in Law Number 1 of 2023, in conjunction with Articles 20 and 21 of the Criminal Code, as well as provisions in the Electronic Information and Transactions Law and the Pornography Law, which carry a minimum sentence of six months and a maximum of 10 years in prison.
(ad/ndt/pr/rs)
