The joint operation saw officers raiding 27 apartment units and five bungalows in Forest City that had been used as operation bases by call centre scam rings.PETALING JAYA: A major joint operation on July 15 led to the dismantling of two online scam syndicates operating in Forest City, Johor, with 335 people arrested, most of whom were Chinese nationals.Johor police chief Ab Rahaman Arsad said those detained comprised 309 Chinese nationals, 19 Indonesians, four Myanmar nationals, and three locals. The 335 people ranged between 20 and 58 years of age.Rahaman said the joint operation saw officers raiding 27 apartment units and five bungalows in Forest City that had been used as operation bases by these call centre scam rings, Utusan Malaysia reported."The operation successfully dismantled two different syndicates. They were found to be running online scams such as cryptocurrency investments and love scams.
The targeted victims involved foreigners, particularly from China and Indonesia."Police also seized 313 computers, 1,557 mobile phones, 17 laptops and 10 modems during the raid," he said at a press conference today.He said the first syndicate involved 279 suspects who allegedly carried out love and crypto scams.The second involved 56 suspects, 54 of whom were foreigners, who impersonated recruitment agents and offered fake crypto investments to victims.Some of the suspects did not possess valid travel documents.A total of 23 investigation papers have been opened for fraud and staying in Malaysia without valid travel passes. So far, 14 cases have been referred to deputy public prosecutors with orders given to charge 194 suspects."A total of 159 suspects will be charged today while the remaining 35 will be prosecuted tomorrow at the Johor Bahru magistrates' court. Nine more investigation papers are awaiting further instructions from the deputy public prosecutor's office," Rahaman said.He said the masterminds of the syndicates are still at large, with police working to track them down.He added that the syndicates had nothing to do with Network School in Forest City, which was shut down last week.
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