KUALA LUMPUR: Some 155 suspects, including 43 foreign nationals, have been detained in raids on eight scam syndicate call centres in the city.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Comm Datuk Allaudeen Abdul Majid said the raids were conducted from Sept 4 to 21.
He said the first raid was conducted on Sept 4, where police busted call centres at two premises in Bandar Seri Petaling.
"We detained 59 people, 29 local men, 24 local women, two foreign men and four foreign women.
"They were detained for running a forex scam targeting victims in the country and India.
"We seized 37 laptops, 15 computers, 52 mobile phones and a modem," he told a press conference at KL police headquarters on Monday (Sept 25).
In the second raid, Comm Allaudeen said police raided a premises at Jalan Kepong on Sept 5 and detained two local men and two foreign men.
"We believe they were using the call centre to facilitate the transfer of funds derived from loan scams targeting locals.
"We seized various items including seven mobile phones, 20 debit cards and a laptop," he said.
In the next raid, which was also on Sept 5, Comm Allaudeen said police raided a premises at Jalan Duta Hartamas and detained five people including three foreigners aged between 27 and 42.
"They were running a share scam. We also seized various items including laptops," he added.
Subsequent information led them to a house in Taman Gembira on Sept 6, where 14 locals, including five women, were detained.
"We believe the syndicate there was running a job scam scheme targeting Turkish nationals.
"Several items were seized, including 13 computers, four mobile phones and a book," Comm Allaudeen said.
The next raid on Sept 8 saw raids on two premises in Taman Gembira and Jalan Senang Ria in the city.
"We detained six local men and six foreign men aged between 19 and 27.
"They were running an illegal online gambling activity targeting Bangladeshi nationals," he said.
Police also raided a premises in Bukit Bintang on Sept 8, he added, where 29 individuals, including 23 locals, were detained.
"They were running an investment scam targeting victims in Asia.
"We also seized 56 mobile phones, 27 laptops and 32 monitors along with seven CPUs," he said.
Comm Allaudeen said police also raided a premises on Jalan P. Ramlee where eight foreign men and a foreign woman were detained.
"The suspects aged between 21 and 33 were running a love scam targeting victims in Asia and Europe.
"Various items were seized including 24 mobile phones, seven laptops and a piece of script the scammers used to dupe victims," he added.
The last raid was conducted near KLCC on Sept 21.
"We detained 12 locals and 11 foreigners in that raid.
"They were running job scams targeting victims from Australia and Canada," Comm Allaudeen said.
He said the syndicates had been operating for about three months.
"We believe they were using high-end condominiums and apartments as their call centres.
"We urge the joint management bodies (JMB) of such highrises to be more responsible in vetting their tenants to ensure no crimes (are being committed) on their grounds.
"We need their cooperation so that the country is not used as a hub for scammers," he said.
Comm Allaudeen also urged anyone with information on call centre activities to contact the KL operations room at 03-21460584/0585 or the nearest police station.
