KUALA LUMPUR: Eight men have been detained over their involvement in a syndicate that allegedly scammed the public by pretending to be a travel agency handing out free holiday packages.

The suspects were detained during a raid on an apartment in Jalan Alor here at around 10pm on Sept 10.

Federal Commercial Crime Investigation department deputy director Senior Deputy Comm Datuk Hamza Taib said the syndicate had duped its victims by informing them that they had won holiday packages to New Zealand and Australia worth US$150,000.

“As with other similar scam, the victims were then required to pay certain amounts to claim the prize.

“All suspects aged between 25 and 31 have been remanded and released on police bail,” he told a press conference on Wednesday.

He added that police also seized seven laptops, 17 mobile phones, five Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) devices and five IP sets.

“We initially raided the premises while investigating one of the suspects who was believed to have been spreading seditious statements.