MELAKA: Melaka police arrested a total of 45 foreigners in simultaneous raids on two luxury homes in Taman Kota Bendahari here, believed to have been used as operational bases for online scam syndicates offering non-existent sexual services, love scams and fraudulent investment schemes.
Melaka police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said the coordinated operation was carried out at about 11am on April 23.
He said the first raid at one of the houses led to the arrest of 21 individuals, comprising 20 Chinese nationals and one Indonesian woman.
"My officers seized three laptops, 62 mobile phones, a modem and router set, as well as 18 scam scripts and eight passports belonging to the suspects.
“Analysis by social media experts found that the syndicate was conducting fraudulent offers of non-existent sexual services targeting victims in China via the DingTalk application,” he said at a press conference held at the Melaka police headquarters in Bukit Beruang here on Tuesday (April 28).
He said the case is being investigated under Section 420 together with Section 120B of the Penal Code, as well as offences under the Immigration Act 1959/63.
DCP Dzulkhairi said a second raid at a nearby location resulted in the arrest of another 27 suspects, comprising 23 Vietnamese and one Chinese national.
He said police also seized 21 desktop computers, 21 monitors complete with keyboards, 23 handphones, two modems and 24 passports.
"The second syndicate was involved in love scams and non-existent investment schemes conducted via the Rakuten Viber application, before victims were persuaded to invest in fake cryptocurrency schemes.
"Operators were paid between RM2,500 and RM5,000 a month, while supervisors earned up to RM6,000, in addition to commissions ranging from RM500 to RM2,000 for each successful victim,” he said.
DCP Dzulkhairi said all those detained were aged between 20 and 44.
He added that investigations revealed both syndicates had come into existence since January, and police are still determining whether the groups are linked, as they were based within the same residential area.
He said that so far this year, Melaka police have conducted nine raids involving call centre-related crimes, arresting 82 individuals, compared with eight raids and 41 arrests throughout last year.
"The trend is worrying, as an increase in cases has been recorded within the first four months of this year,” he said.
