Melaka Police Arrest 11 Thai Nationals Suspected of Involvement in Online Scam Syndicate

MELAKA: Melaka police arrested 11 Thai nationals during a raid on premises believed to be operating as a call centre for an online scam syndicate in Taman Kota Shahbandar here on Monday.

Melaka Tengah District Police Chief ACP Halim Abas said the suspects, comprising four men and seven women aged between 18 and 36, were arrested during the raid at approximately 10.10pm.

He said the operation was conducted by the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) of the Melaka Police Contingent Headquarters (IPK), in collaboration with the Commercial Crime Investigation Division of the Melaka Tengah District Police Headquarters (IPD).

“Preliminary investigations found that the syndicate is believed to have begun operating in early October and used a modus operandi of impersonating law enforcement agencies to target victims among Thai nationals,” he said in a statement here today.

Halim said preliminary investigations also revealed that all the suspects were believed to have received no salary payments throughout their involvement in the activities.

He said police also seized 11 laptops, 11 mobile phones of various brands and an internet router believed to have been used in the fraudulent activities, with an estimated total value of RM20,000.

He said all the suspects had been remanded for four days beginning yesterday to assist in further investigations under Sections 420 and 120B of the Penal Code.

Meanwhile, he advised the public to remain vigilant against telephone calls from unknown individuals, particularly those requesting personal or banking information or instructing victims to carry out financial transactions.

Homeowners, homestay operators and accommodation premises operators were also reminded to be more alert to activities involving the rental of their premises and to report any suspicious activities to the police immediately.

Astro AWANI