East Timor’s National Police (PNTL) detained 30 more foreign nationals in Dili on Sunday on suspicion of illegal online activities, that security force announced today.
The detention took place in the Cristo area, after authorities surrounded a hotel unit in that area, which was being used as a base for “online fraud activities by a fraud center,” according to information from the PNTL.
“At the moment the team entered the premises, two foreign nationals tried to flee and hide, but were pursued and captured on the public road, in the Cristo Rei area,” Timorese police explained.
The operation involved the participation of the mobile team from the Directorate of the Criminal Investigation Service, the Directorate of the Police Intelligence Service, and East Timor’s Migration Service.
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“During the operation, the team also seized several suspicious objects, including digital technology equipment that will serve as evidence in the investigation,” the PNTL added.
In recent weeks, Timorese police authorities have detained more than 400 people, mostly citizens of China, Cambodia and Indonesia, suspected of involvement in illegal online activities, mainly related to illegal gambling and fraud.
A report released this week by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) stated that recent developments in East Timor show the displacement of scam centers in Southeast Asia.
In September of last year, the UNODC had already warned of the increased presence of criminal networks in Oecusse, the Timorese enclave located in Indonesian territory, on the island of Timor. According to the UN agency, recent investigations show that the region has begun to be influenced by organized criminal activities.
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The Timorese Council of Ministers approved last Wednesday a draft bill proposal that requests the National Parliament’s legislative authorization on matters of crimes and criminal procedure within the scope of cybersecurity, and the definition of the legal regime of national cyberspace.
