A suspected syndicate providing communication facilities to an online scam network has been dismantled following the arrest of three local men in a series of raids across the Klang Valley.
Perak police chief Datuk Mohd Alwi Zainal Abidin said the operation was carried out at five locations in Petaling Jaya, Kelana Jaya, Hulu Kelang and Damansara last Thursday.
The suspects, aged between 32 and 45, are believed to have supplied communication infrastructure to support scam operations conducted from overseas.
Police seized eight sim boxes, 11 Starlink units, 509 SIM cards, a laptop, two routers and five mobile phones during the raids.
“The equipment is believed to have been used as a ‘call gateway’ to manage the communication flow of the scam network, making it more difficult for authorities to trace the calls,” he said in a statement on Saturday.
Mohd Alwi said the arrests followed intelligence gathering and investigations by the Commercial Crime Investigation Division of the Kampar district police headquarters into a previous scam report.
The case involved a 22-year-old higher education student who was allegedly duped on July 31 after receiving a call from someone posing as a delivery company representative.
The caller claimed that a parcel containing prohibited items had been sent under the victim’s name before transferring the call to another individual who allegedly posed as a law enforcement officer.
The victim was then accused of being involved in money laundering and allegedly threatened with arrest and prosecution. Fearing the consequences, the victim followed the instructions given and transferred RM8,999 in cash to several bank accounts.
The victim was also allegedly instructed to place jewellery, including a necklace, rings, earrings and a gold bracelet worth about RM20,000, on a wall outside a house in Kampar. The victim was told the items were required for an investigation and would be returned later.
However, the victim realised he had been scammed after the money and jewellery were not returned, prompting him to lodge a police report on Aug 1.
The three suspects have been remanded for four days until Aug 17 to assist investigations under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
Police continue to investigate the suspects’ alleged role in supporting overseas-based scam operations and are also working to determine whether other individuals are connected to the network.
