Police bust a locally-run Macau scam syndicate

KUALA Lumpur Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) busted a Macau scam syndicate run by locals, with the arrest of 14 suspects including an IT technician who is believed to be the mastermind.
Police also seized paraphernalia, including gadgets and scripts in Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia used in the scam, China Press reported today.
The Police's initial investigation showed that the technician, who used his gadgets to intercept a telecommunication provider's SIM card hotline for members to lure potential victims, is the key figure in the syndicate.
Following the arrests, police believed that they have crippled a phone call scam syndicate responsible for more than 40 cases in the Klang Valley, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Johor, Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Perlis over the last year.
According to the report, police, who received a report on March 13 from a 54-year-old woman that she lost RM40,000 in a Macau scam, launched a 12 hour long operation from 2am on March 16, and detained the 36-year-old technician and 13 other suspects, aged between 16 and 36, in various locations around the Klang Valley.
Apart from seizing some gadgets from the technician at his home, police also seized 899 items of communication equipment and scripts in Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia from the five apartment units in Puchong where most of the suspects were picked up.
It is understood that one of those arrested is a fugitive wanted for a murder case.