13 Japanese detained near Jakarta for suspected fraud

The arrests announced on Wednesday mark the first such case involving Japanese citizens in Indonesia, according to the Japanese Embassy in the Southeast Asian country.

The 13 men in their 20s to 40s were detained on Monday for allegedly attempting to defraud elderly Japanese living outside Indonesia by posing as telecommunications company employees or police officers since February.

Authorities seized police uniforms, many smartphones and tablet devices.

The amount of damage and the number of cases are under investigation.

In Southeast Asia, there have been cases in which Japanese nationals were detained in connection with fraud operations.

According to Vietnamese state media reports, Hanoi police said Tuesday that they had detained four Japanese and three Chinese individuals on suspicion of defrauding victims in Japan of VND11 billion, or about 66 million yen, in virtual currency by impersonating police officers or prosecutors and making calls to them.

Since August last year, the suspects had falsely told victims that their personal information was used for criminal activities and demanded virtual currency as investigation fees.

The Japanese Embassy in Vietnam has confirmed the detention of the four Japanese men, saying it will continue to work with local authorities.