Jakarta. The newly launched Task Force against Online Gambling has arrested at least seven social media personalities for endorsing gambling on their Instagram accounts, a senior official said on Tuesday.

The suspects include five individuals from Banten and two from Lampung, Chief Security Minister Hadi Tjahjanto announced at a news conference in Jakarta. Hadi declined to disclose the identities of the suspects.

In addition, the National Police have taken action against three gambling websites operating in Indonesia: 1xbet, W88, and Liga Ciputra, resulting in the arrest of dozens of gamblers.

"Police confiscated Rp 4.7 billion in cash, three vehicles, 114 cellphones, 96 bank books, 45 ATM cards, nine laptops, and five tokens from the suspects," Hadi said.

In another operation, the task force arrested 19 suspected gamblers in Banda Aceh. According to Hadi, the anti-money laundering agency has frozen over 6,000 bank accounts linked to online gambling.

"It takes time to eradicate online gambling, and we have begun to take immediate measures. The first priority is to protect our people before targeting the gambling operators,” Hadi said.

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