Authorities and locals must be vigilant to prevent syndicates from threatening state’s image as preferred investment destination
Lately, Johor’s booming real estate market seems to be attracting a lot of attention, not just from genuine investors but also international scammers.
The latest arrest − dubbed the biggest crackdown of illegal call centres in Johor − took place in the middle of this month when police raided 32 premises around Forest City.
It led to the arrest of 335 people who comprised mostly foreigners – 309 Chinese nationals, 19 Indonesians and four Myanmar nationals – and three Malaysians.
The two syndicates were able to secure five floors, comprising 27 luxury apartments exclusively for their operations, using a local company while five luxury bungalows were rented under individual names.
These two scam centres, equipped with almost 1,900 devices, including computers, laptops and mobile phones worth more than RM1mil, are said to have been operating for more than a month before they were busted.
They are believed to have made millions by ripping off victims through various types of scams such as love scams, currency fraud and cryptocurrency syndicates, targeting mainly senior citizens in China, Indonesia, Japan, United States and Europe.
Besides Iskandar Puteri, many more call centres have been busted over the past few months around Johor Baru and Iskandar Puteri.
Almost all these syndicates had been operating in affluent neighbourhoods, which are gated and guarded.
Kudos to the Commercial Crimes Investigations Department (CCID) for its relentless efforts in shutting down such scam centres.
But a question that needs to be asked is: Why are scammers still setting up offices in Johor?
Who are the masterminds behind these operations?
How do so many foreigners slip into one place undetected?
Are all these foreigners who were arrested really victims of human trafficking, having been promised lucrative salaries?
What is the international community, especially China, doing to combat this growing menace, given that its citizens are among not only the scammers being caught but also the victims?
Based on my findings, one major reason these operations are being set up in Johor is because of the state’s proximity to Singapore, as the syndicates appear to be leveraging Singapore’s advance telecommunication networks to carry out their scamming activities.
Many of the condominiums raided by the police are close to the island republic, where the cellular network is strong, allowing these syndicates to operate their scams on Malaysian soil.
Johor, especially through the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), is seeing a huge boom in real estate, with thousands of high-rise apartments and condominiums mushrooming in the southern part of the state.
If we are not vigilant, criminals will take advantage of this boom and start relocating their international scam centres from places such as Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.
There are already tell-tale signs that due to increasing pressure from China and Thailand, these multi-million ringgit scam businesses have already started shifting their operation abroad − including to Johor − as some of the suspects arrested claimed that they came from Cambodia.
Are the authorities and the public ready to face this growing threat in Johor?
The time has come for stricter oversight, especially at border checkpoints, involving foreigners from countries associated with scam syndicates.
There should be more posters and pamphlets distributed to foreigners entering Malaysia, to warn of severe punishment if they engage in scam activities.
Those caught engaging in such scams should not just be jailed but also whipped.
They should be deported immediately after completing their sentences and banned from entering Malaysia for life.
Landlords found renting their properties to such syndicates should also face hefty fines and jail time.
Residents associations, joint management bodies and management corporations at all residential estates, whether high-rise developments or landed properties, need to be alert to the sudden presence of many foreigners staying in a single unit.
They should immediately call the police hotline at 07-2212999 if they suspect anything illegal.
We should also learn the lessons from Laos via its Golden Triangle SEZ, which attracted a lot of controversies.
Everyone needs to play a part so that Johor’s image as a preferred investor destination in Malaysia is not marred by such scam syndicates.
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