Cops bust 'Macau Scam' syndicate with arrest of ten

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have thwarted a purported "Macau Scam" syndicate that has cheated the public of more than RM3 million, with the arrest of ten individuals.
KL CCID chief Mohd Luthfi Ismail Abdullah said the commercial crimes investigation department from the Sentul district police station had raided an apartment in Bandar Baru Seri Petaling, which was the main headquarters of the operation, and had arrested the suspects who were allegedly involved in the syndicate.
"In raids conducted on July 17, police arrested the ten people and seized some items from the apartment believed to be used in the scam.
"Out of the ten suspects, eight males and one female are from China on student Visa's and social visitation passes.
"One local Chinese man, who worked as the syndicate's transporter was also arrested in the raid," he said at a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur Police headquarters today.
The items seized included 52 cellphones, 29 SIM cards, 176 ATM cards from various banks, a record ledger and five money transfer gadgets among others.
He said that the suspects were in their 20's and 50's and had been conducting the scam since April this year.
Mohd Luthfi said that police are currently investigating the scam's modus operandi and added that a majority of the victims they scammed were from China.
"The suspects will be remanded till July 22 to aid in investigations," he said, adding that they may be deported to China.
"We are working with Bukit Aman and the Chinese embassy here," he said.
He advised the public not to fall victim to these scam artists and to be cautious.
"Do not give your personal information over the phone to those who claim to be police officers and bank personnel," he said.
He added that those with information on such cases must contact the police hotline at 03-2115 9999 or visit the nearest police station immediately.