Indonesian police arrest three in Makassar over SMS blasting network promoting online gambling sites

How the SMS blasting network was found

Makassar Police criminal investigation chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Justian said the case began with a cyber patrol in early September 2026, when officers from the unit handling specific crimes detected a server sending mass text messages that promoted online gambling with links to betting sites.

Officers traced the activity to a rented room in the Minasa Upa housing area of Rappocini district, where they detained NRT and seized two modem pools and two phones. A modem pool is a rack of SIM-card modems that can send large volumes of SMS at once.

NRT told police that his older brother, NZT, ran the same business. At NZT's home in Manggala district, officers found four more modem pools and a phone. NZT then told investigators he had learned to operate the equipment from SS, at whose home police seized five modem pools and two phones.

In total police seized 11 modem pools and five mobile phones. The three men are being held at Makassar Police headquarters.

Paid per message

According to police, the men sent messages at random to thousands of phone numbers every day. Sub-unit head Second Inspector Andre Satya Dharma said each day's run reached about 2,000 to 3,000 numbers, according to the national police news site Tribratanews, citing the state news agency Antara.

Investigators say the suspects were paid by the number of messages successfully delivered, at about €0.0018 per SMS (roughly Rp36), with payment made at the end of each month. Police put total earnings at around Rp1.3 billion (about US$80,000), a figure Justian described as an initial estimate. Local reports differ on whether that sum covers one year or the full period since 2024.

Foreign links under investigation

Police say the suspects worked with a company named in police statements and local reports as Skylane or Skyline, said to be located in China. "The link between that company and the SMS activity still needs to be traced through examination of documents, electronic communications and financial transactions," Justian said.

Andre said extracted phone data showed "several conversations with foreign numbers, including from China and Malaysia". Police are also looking into recruitment through Telegram by a foreign national whose identity and role are still being established.

The case adds to Indonesian police action against the supply chain around online gambling, from promoters and payment channels to operators. Recent cases include a Central Java man accused of running score bets on PlayStation football streamed on TikTok, prosecuted under the gambling provision of Indonesia's new Criminal Code. None of the allegations has been tested in court.