KUALA LUMPUR: More than 2,100 individuals suspected of involvement in online scams and mule account activities were arrested in two operations conducted by the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) in September.
Bukit Aman CCID director Comm Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa said a total of 2,123 individuals were detained, with 1,303 suspects nabbed during Operation Mule National Scam Response Centre (Ops Mule NSRC), which was carried out nationwide from Sept 22 to 28.
He said investigations led to the opening of 778 investigation papers, with 270 cases already charged in court, while another 312 cases remain under investigation.
“In Ops Mule NSRC, we had 2,062 targets nationwide and successfully arrested 1,303 individuals. Sarawak recorded the highest number of arrests with 272 individuals, followed by Sabah (200), Kuala Lumpur (137) and Selangor (115),” he told a press conference at CCID headquarters on Thursday (Oct 30).
Commusdi said the main objective of the operation was to conduct raids, arrests and seizures involving members of mule account syndicates, including those involved in online scams, financial operations, and foreign nationals.
He added that the cases are being investigated under Section 420 and Sections 424A, 424B, and 424C of the Penal Code.
In a separate operation, 820 individuals were arrested in Ops Merpati Khas conducted by CCID’s Intelligence and Operations Division between Sept 2 and 12, Comm Rusdi said.
"We detained 475 men and 315 women, including four foreign nationals.
“A total of 790 individuals were mule account holders used for e-commerce scams, while 30 others were directly involved in operating scam call centres across several states,” he said.
The operation led to the opening of 660 investigation papers nationwide, involving total losses of RM11.6mil, he added.
*Out of these, 275 cases have been charged, while the rest remain under investigation," he said.
