Johor cops nab 15 over suspected ah long activities

JOHOR BARU: Police arrested 15 individuals for allegedly operating unlicensed money lending activities.

State police chief Comm Kamarul Zaman Mamat said three women and 12 men, aged between 22 and 43, were detained on Thursday (July 13).

He said the suspects were apprehended in 13 different locations in Iskandar Puteri and Johor Baru North between 8am and 1pm.

"All of the suspects are believed to be from the same syndicate known as Ah Hao," Comm Kamarul Zaman said in a press conference at the Johor Police Contingent headquarters here on Friday.

He said most of the suspects were repeat offenders and have been charged in court.

Comm Kamarul Zaman said police also seized several items from them including seven cars, 44 mobile phones, 22 ATM cards, five laptops and two tablets.

"All of them have been remanded until Sunday (July 16) to assist with investigation," he said.

In a separate case, police arrested four Singaporeans for their involvement in a job scam on June 26.

Comm Kamarul Zaman said the suspects - one woman and three men - aged between 27 and 40, have been operating from a house in Taman Perling for two months.

"They were using the house as a call centre targeting Singaporeans, with losses amounting up to RM10mil," he said.

Comm Kamarul Zaman said the suspects would make calls to potential victims using Singapore-registered mobile numbers and bank accounts to avoid suspicion.

"The suspects were handed over to Singapore police on June 30," said

Comm Kamarul Zaman, adding that the arrests were due to the joint-effort between Malaysia and Singapore police.