JOHOR BAHRU: Police today announced the arrest of a man suspected to be the mastermind of a pedophile ring specialising in sexually abusing babies and young children, creating videos and selling them through the Telegram app and on the dark web.
Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk M Kumar said the man, 29, was arrested on July 19 here under Ops Pedo, a month-long operation between the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) Sexual, Women and Children Criminal Investigation Department, Malaysia Internet Crime Against Children (MICAC) and international agencies that began on July 19 till Aug 19.
The suspect, believed to be the mastermind of a pedophile ring, recorded himself sexually abusing babies and young children, including two baby boys and three girls, aged two months to five years, and sold the videos through Telegram and on the dark web to selected local and foreign buyers.
“The main suspect’s modus operandi was to obtain a supply of babies using Facebook, (where he looked for posts) offering babies for adoption.
“The suspect would deal with the birth mothers by providing RM1,500 to RM3,500 in cash, including settling the maternity bill at the hospital,” he said during a media conference at the Johor contingent police headquarters today, in the presence of Johor police chief Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad.
Kumar also shared a seized birth certificate listing the suspect as the baby’s father, indicating that the birth mothers were cared for till legal birth certificates were obtained from the National Registration Department.
The suspect also secured legal custody of his victims as his adopted children, he said, adding that further investigation was being conducted into the matter.
What was even more surprising to the police was that the suspect was also believed to have looked for other victims randomly by targeting children unsupervised by their parents or guardians at his neighbourhood.
“So far, we have identified and discovered three victims (from his neighbourhood), girls aged five to seven years,” he said.
A total of 10 individuals – two local women, two Indonesian men and four Indonesian women, a Myanmar man and a Suluk woman, 25 to 60, have been arrested to facilitate investigations, and items seized at the suspect’s house include birth certificates, maternity record books, identification cards, unfilled National Registration Department forms, laptops and mobile phones.
Kumar also revealed that the three children and two babies rescued are now under the care of the Social Welfare Department, and that the suspect is being investigated under Section 5, Section 14(a) and Section 14(d) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.
Five investigation papers have been opened and have been referred to the Attorney-General’s Chambers on Aug 21, he added. – Bernama
