ALOR SETAR: A phone scam syndicate has been smashed with the arrest of 54 people during a raid at the Mergong 2 industrial area near here.
Kedah police chief Datuk Fisol Salleh said officers from the Commercial Crime Investigation Department, with assistance from colleagues from the district police headquarters of Kota Setar, Kuala Muda and Langkawi, raided the syndicate’s operating premises at 6pm on Monday.
The 54 individuals detained comprised 19 men and a woman from Taiwan, two Bangladeshi men, 29 Chinese men and three locals aged between 20 and 50.
“The premises is believed to have been rented and used as a call centre for fraudulent activities and this syndicate has been operating for four months,” he said at a press conference at the state police headquarters here yesterday, Bernama reported.
Fisol said this syndicate impersonated officers from enforcement agencies and informed the victims that their bank accounts were being investigated and their money would be frozen or seized.
“The victims were asked to transfer money into accounts given by the syndicate.
“They targeted people from China and Taiwan.
“Police also confiscated a Proton Exora, an Isuzu truck, keys, laptops, mobile phones, a router, a printer, scripts and a list containing Chinese bank account numbers,” he said.
The police are also tracing the owner of the premises and the owner of a vehicle company, who they believe will be able to assist in the investigation.
All those arrested have been remanded for four days and the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code, Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959 and Section 55B(1) of the same Act.
“The police want to remind owners of premises to be wary of prospective tenants. The public is also asked to be more sensitive to every call received and not to believe easily, especially when it comes to financial transactions.”
In Johor Baru, Bernama reported that a factory worker claimed to have been deceived by a non-existent investment scheme resulting in a loss of RM87,400.90.
Iskandar Puteri district police chief Asst Comm Rahmat Ariffin said the 40-year-old man claimed to have participated in a practical training camp on investment through a WhatsApp group in May and joined an investment scheme.
A month after joining the scheme, the victim was told that his profits had increased by RM180,000. He wanted to withdraw the profits, but was asked to pay a “tax” of RM24,000.90.
“The victim made the payment and only realised he had been cheated when he was unable to contact the individual involved and found that he had been removed from the WhatsApp group.
“He claimed to have lost a total of RM87,400.90, including the investment capital,” ACP Rahmat said in a statement.
The police are investigating this case under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
