IPOH: Police have crippled a syndicate offering nonexistent loans to Malaysians, arresting five men and a Thai woman in raids on two apartments in Bandar Agacia, Kampar.
Perak police chief Comm Datuk Mohd Alwi Zainal Abidin said the suspects, aged between 19 and 30, were arrested at about 6.30pm on Thursday (Oct 22).
He said 13 mobile phones and six ATM cards were also seized, with the total value estimated at RM15,000.
"Investigations found that the suspects advertised fictitious loans through Telegram and WhatsApp, asking applicants to send their ATM cards and passwords as collateral," he told a press conference at state police headquarters here on Tuesday (Oct 27).
"Victims were instructed to pack the cards with the passwords and mail them to the address provided.
"The syndicate would then use the cards to carry out online scams, with victims discovering they had been cheated only after their banks informed them that their accounts were frozen because pf police investigations."
He said preliminary investigations revealed that the syndicate had been operating since June.
The six suspects allegedly worked as recruitment agents and were promised monthly payments of between RM3,000 and RM5,000, he added.
"They are believed to have used apartments usually occupied by students in Kampar to avoid detection.
"Checks on bank accounts linked to the syndicate connected them to five nonexistent loan scam cases in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Sabah," Comm Alwi said.
All six suspects will be charged at the Tapah Magistrate’s Court today, while the Thai woman will be detained for further investigation under the Immigration Act 1959/63, he added.
In a separate case, Comm Alwi said 25 Chinese nationals aged between 26 and 41 were arrested for allegedly operating an online investment scam targeting their compatriots from a factory in an industrial area in Bercham here.
"The raid was conducted at 12.05am on Oct 23.
"Those arrested comprised 24 men and one woman, who were allegedly operating a scam call centre.
"An analysis of computers seized during the raid found that the syndicate was offering fictitious online investments targeting Chinese nationals.
"The syndicate allegedly used TikTok to promote the investments before directing interested customers to Telegram for further communication," he said.
He added that victims were then instructed to click on links provided by the syndicate to access a specially developed platform operated by the group.
He said investigations found that the syndicate had been operating from the premises since late September.
"The 25 suspects acted as agents to recruit customers and promote the online investments, and were allegedly promised monthly salaries of RM8,000.
"Passport checks found that 22 of the suspects had been in Cambodia before entering Malaysia, while another had been in Thailand.
"Such operations were previously detected at resorts, residential properties, shoplots and gated housing areas.
"Syndicates are now also using factories in industrial areas to conduct their activities," he added.
Comm Alwi said that in a third casr, five Japanese men were arrested for operating a phone scam targeting their compatriots from a two-storey house in Kampung Simee here.
He said the raid was conducted at 6.10am on Monday (Oct 26).
"The suspects, aged between 21 and 27, would impersonate staff from Japanese hospitals.
"An analysis of the seized devices found that the syndicate contacted victims, claiming that their family members had been in accidents and needed emergency surgery.
"Victims were then asked to make payments to cover treatment and surgery costs," he said.
Comm Alwi said the syndicate had been operating from the premises since late September.
"Passport checks found that the suspects had been in Cambodia and also travelled to South Korea and Laos before entering Malaysia.
"We will seek a remand order for all five suspects for further investigations," he added.
