Melaka police arrest 31 foreign nationals in a raid on a bogus stock investment syndicate operating from a house in the city.
MELAKA: Police have busted a non-existent stock investment fraud syndicate with the arrest of 31 foreign nationals during a raid on a house in the city area on Monday.
Melaka police chief Datuk Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said the operation netted 30 Chinese nationals and one South Korean woman, aged between 20 and 40, in the raid at 4.30 pm, which uncovered 26 computer sets, 50 mobile phones, a router modem and an internet port.
“Investigations revealed the premises were being used to run a bogus stock investment scam targeting victims in Korea and China,” he told a press conference at the Melaka Contingent Police headquarters today.
Dzulkhairi said the syndicate is believed to have been operating in Melaka for about two months, with all suspects serving as customer service officers tasked with hunting for victims via phone calls.
He said the syndicate’s modus operandi involved luring victims through stock investment offers promising short-term high returns, with advertisements sent randomly via Telegram.
Interested victims were then instructed to download an app to proceed with the investment, before being referred to other syndicate cells operating from different locations to complete the fraud.
“The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code, and all suspects have been remanded for four days from June 23 to 26,” he said, while urging the public to alert police if they suspect any premises are being used for such illegal activities.
Dzulkhairi also reported a separate operation in Batang Tiga, Klebang, yesterday, where the General Operations Force arrested 13 Indonesians, including three suspected transporters.
Interrogation of the three led police to a house, where a further 10 Indonesians, believed to be recent arrivals aged between their 20s and 40s, were picked up.
He added that the three transporters were being held under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012.
