Beijing, Indonesian police smash telephone scam dens

Beijing police working with their Indonesian counterparts have smashed three telephone scam dens in Indonesia, resulting in the arrest of 112 people suspected of telecom fraud, including 33 from the Chinese mainland and 79 from Taiwan, since November.

In the transnational crackdown, the police also seized more than 440,000 yuan ($72,424) and confiscated equipment used in the frauds, such as computers, telephones, credit cards and voice gateways, according to a statement from the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

The suspects in Indonesia pretended to be police officers and prosecutors and called residents in China almost 30,000 times since September, including more than 70 cases reported in the capital city, and tricked people into remitting money into prepared accounts, the authority said.

The bureau established a special team after it contacted police in Indonesia, and launched the action with the help of Indonesian police and residents, the authority said.

Since 2011, more than 22,400 telecom fraud cases have been uncovered, with more than 1,970 people been detained, according to statistics from the authority.

Since the beginning of 2013, the city's police have tackled more than 9,390 telecom fraud cases, an increase of about 32 percent year-on-year, the statistics show.

In the same period, the bureau has cooperated with police in many East Asian countries, including the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, undertaking several successful transnational crackdowns.

So far, the police have caught more than 1,140 people suspected of cross-country telecom frauds and destroyed 64 gangs, the authority added.