JOHOR BARU: Police have carried out large-scale raids targeting at least seven premises and nabbed 15 people, mostly foreigners, who were manning scam call centres targeting victims in China, Pakistan and India.
A police official said the suspects, believed to be from three different syndicates, were involved in fake investments, love and sex scams, and foreign currency scams.
The official said the suspects, 13 men and two women aged 20 to 40, were remanded for investigation.
In the first raid, police stormed three apartments in the city and arrested eight Chinese nationals, including the two women.
“They are believed to be using social media to offer fake investment opportunities and phone sex to victims in China and India,” the official said, adding that the call centre had been operating for the past few months.
In the second raid, police stormed a luxury villa in Iskandar Puteri and arrested four Chinese nationals involved in love scams targeting victims in Pakistan.
“Numerous nude photographs were found in electronic devices,” the official said, adding that during another raid on an apartment in the city, three men, including two Taiwanese nationals, were rounded up.
The official said these suspects used social media to target Chinese nationals, promising huge returns from a fake currency exchange involving the buying and selling of the US dollar.
None of the suspects had passports, and they were paid RM3,000 to RM4,000 a month.
“They were recruited via social media,” the official said, adding that police also seized electronic gadgets worth RM60,000.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Community Crime Care Pahang branch chairman Daniel Khoo urged the authorities to invoke stricter legal provisions against individuals, especially foreigners, involved in scam syndicates.
“We have seen numerous scam syndicates raided in Johor in recent weeks, with many arrests made.
“However, when the suspects, mostly foreigners, are charged, most are merely fined between RM2,000 and RM3,000 under the Passport Act.
“They should actually be deported immediately and banned from re-entering Malaysia,” he said, adding that the government should review scam laws and tighten the loopholes used by these syndicates to evade heavy punishment.
