Johor police dismantled two online scam syndicates in a raid in Forest City, Iskandar Puteri, Johor, Malaysia, on July 15, arresting 335 suspects aged between 20 and 58.
Among those arrested were 309 Chinese nationals, 19 Indonesians, four Myanmar nationals, and three Malaysians, according to police. Police raided 27 apartment units and five bungalows in the area.
The arrest operation targeted two areas identified by police as hubs for call centres running online fraud activities. The syndicates operated fake cryptocurrency investment offers and love scams, targeting victims from abroad, especially China and Indonesia.
The operation involved two syndicates. The first allegedly comprised 279 suspects involved in love and crypto scams. The second reportedly consisted of 56 suspects, including 54 foreigners, who impersonated recruitment agents and offered fake crypto investments. Some suspects lacked valid travel documents.
Police seized equipment and devices worth about 1 million ringgit (US$245,000), including 313 computers, 1,557 mobile phones, 17 laptops, other equipment, and a Mazda CX-8 SUV.
Police opened 23 investigation papers linked to fraud and staying without valid passes. Of these, 14 were referred to deputy public prosecutors, with orders to charge 194 suspects. A further 35 of the 194 suspects will be prosecuted on Wednesday at the Johor Bahru magistrates' court. Nine other investigation papers await further instructions from the deputy public prosecutor's office.
The alleged masterminds remain at large, and authorities are working with Interpol. Police said the syndicates are not linked to the digital nomad community Network School.
Transnational scam and online gambling rings are relocating activities to Malaysia and Indonesia from Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos, authorities said. In May, Malaysia's police chief Mohd Khalid Ismail said transnational scam syndicates were exploiting Malaysia's visa-exemption policy. That same month, Malaysian police arrested 187 suspects in Klang Valley—including 127 Chinese nationals—and seized assets worth nearly RM58 million (US$14.7 million).