KUALA LUMPUR: Police have busted several international online scam syndicates in the country, seizing assets worth RM57.68mil and arresting 187 people.
Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Khalid Ismail said a multi-agency team carried out 46 raids on luxury homes, including condominiums, last Wednesday (May 6) and Thursday in the Klang Valley.
“As a result of the operation, 187 individuals were arrested, comprising 151 men and 36 women of various nationalities believed to be involved in cross-border online scam activities.
“They included 129 Chinese nationals, 23 locals, nine Japanese nationals, eight Vietnamese, seven Indonesians, four Laotians, three Thais, and two each from the Philippines and Myanmar,” he told a press conference here on Friday (May 15).
Mohd Khalid said police also seized various assets and properties believed to be linked to online scam activities, with a total estimated value of RM57.68mil.
“The main seizures included three luxury properties worth RM38mil and 20 luxury vehicles valued at RM6.58mil.
“We also seized 67 luxury items comprising watches, handbags, jewellery, wallets and gold bars worth RM12mil, as well as 556 digital devices, including mobile phones, computers and laptops,” he said.
He added that the syndicates targeted victims in several countries, including Hong Kong, China, South Korea and Japan, using fake investment schemes, phone scams, love scams and online gambling.
“For phone scams, the syndicates impersonated Japanese police officers through applications such as BRIA Mobile, Telegram and Line.
“For love scams, they deceived victims through online relationships, mainly targeting South Korean and Japanese nationals,” he said.
Mohd Khalid said 24 investigation papers had been opened so far, adding that investigations were ongoing to identify the syndicates’ entire network, including the masterminds, financial management structure and cross-border criminal links involved.
The cases are being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code, Section 120B of the Penal Code and Section 5 of the Computer Crimes Act 1997.
The multi-agency Ops Teguh 2.0 was carried out by the Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) with the cooperation of the Special Branch, the Anti-Money Laundering (AMLA) division, CyberSecurity Malaysia (CSM) and Telekom Malaysia (TM).
