JOHOR BARU: A total of 19 call centre syndicates have been crushed by the Johor police between January and September this year, says Comm Datuk M. Kumar.
The Johor police chief said the syndicates were involved in all kinds of commercial crime cases, including job scams, investment scams and loan scams.
“Between January and September, the Johor Commercial Crime Investigation Department busted 19 call centres and arrested 156 foreign and local suspects involved in the syndicates.
“We have opened investigation papers for all the 19 cases, and seven of them have been charged in court,” he said in his speech during the Johor police monthly assembly at its headquarters here today.
He also said the police have also been conducting an awareness campaign to prevent the public from falling prey to scammers.
On another matter, Comm Kumar said that there had been a slight increase in the state’s crime index in the first nine months of this year compared to the corresponding period in 2023.
“The Johor crime index has seen a 5.61% increase with 4,027 cases this year, compared to 3,813 cases during the same period last year.
“Nevertheless, the increase in the crime index is under control, and 62.63% of criminal cases reported have been solved,” he said.
On narcotics, Comm Kumar said that the police have arrested a total of 19,155 people for various kinds of drug offences this year.
“The Johor Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department has seized 5.40 tonnes of drugs worth about RM57.84mil this year.
“This put them in third place in terms of drug seizure among all other police contingents nationwide,” he said, adding that some RM13.96mil of assets from drug syndicates were also seized during that period.
