KUALA LUMPUR: The main suspects in an online gambling syndicate have been detained under the Prevention of Crime Act (Poca) for two years.
Goh Leong Yeong, also known as Alvin Goh, will be detained at Simpang Renggam Prison in Johor while Addy Kanna is being detained at Pokok Sena Prison in Kedah.
The detention under Poca was decided by the Home Ministry's Prevention of Crime Board last Friday.
When contacted, Bukit Aman CID director Comm Datuk Huzir Mohamed confirmed the detentions and added that a statement will be issued soon.
Goh and Addy were detained by graft busters on Oct 2 and Oct 3 respectively for suspected involvement in Macau scams, illegal online gambling and working with a foreign scam syndicate.
Both men were then released. Addy was arrested by police but Goh had fled from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters on Oct 11.
Goh was subsequently arrested on Oct 27.
The term “Macau Scam” was coined because it is believed that it originated from Macau or that the first victims came from there. This has never been confirmed.
The scam often starts with a phone call from someone pretending to be an officer from a bank, government agency or debt collector.
The scammer will then claim that the potential victim owes money or has an unpaid fine, often with a very short window of less than an hour, to settle the payment or face “dire consequences”.
These unsuspecting victims will then be asked to make payments to get them off the hook.
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