MIRI POLICE DISMANTLE TWO FRAUD SYNDICATES, ARREST 11

MIRI, Jan 12 (Bernama) -- The Miri district police headquarters' (IPD) Commercial Crime Investigation Division (CCID) has successfully dismantled two fraud syndicates, which had been recruiting individuals as mule account holders and impersonating authorities.

Miri police chief ACP Alexson Naga Chabu disclosed that two separate operations were carried out across Miri, resulting in the arrest of 11 individuals, including a woman.

“In the first case, on Jan 8 around noon, a team of officers from the Miri CCID apprehended two local men, aged 34 and 46, at the Boulevard commercial centre, for allegedly recruiting individuals as mule account holders,” he said.

“The team also confiscated a car, seven mobile phones of various brands, 44 ATM cards from different banks, 29 SIM (subscriber identity module) cards from various telecommunications companies, two sling bags, RM32 in cash, and a notebook containing bank account numbers,” he said at a press conference, here, today.

In the second operation, which took place around 3 pm on Jan 10, police apprehended nine individuals, including a woman, aged between 25 and 40, at a house in Taman Bayshore, Miri.

The raiding team seized a variety of items, including 20 mobile phones, two computers, computer accessories such as adapters and cables, two laptops, seven sets of documents containing victims’ information, scripts used by suspects who impersonated police officers and National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) personnel, three notebooks, an iPad, a tablet, and two passports belonging to the suspects.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the syndicate had been active since November 2024, conducting online fraud schemes by posing as police officers and NSRC personnel.

The suspects were recruited via Facebook, where they were offered jobs as operators with a salary of RM2,000, along with flight tickets to the work location. They were also provided with scripts to memorise, and trained on how to manipulate and deceive their victims.

The combined estimated value of the loot from both operations was RM40,000 for the first and RM30,000 for the second.

All suspects are currently being detained under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code to assist with police investigations. Both cases are being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating, and Section 120B for criminal conspiracy.

-- BERNAMA