Kelantan cops bust love scam syndicate, 58 held

 State police chief Yusoff Mamat says the syndicate was believed to be targeting Singaporeans.

Of the 58 people arrested, 56 were foreign nationals, mostly from China, and two Malaysians. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

 Police have smashed a love scam syndicate operating out of a resort in Kelantan, which was believed to be targeting Singaporeans.

Kelantan police chief Yusoff Mamat said a total of 58 people, mostly foreigners, were arrested following the 4.30pm raid in Tanah Merah yesterday, Bernama reported.

He added that the raid was carried out following intelligence gathered by the commercial crime investigation department of the Kelantan police headquarters.

Those arrested comprised 53 men and five women aged between 20 and 30. He said there were 56 foreign nationals, mostly from China, and two Malaysians.

Yusoff said the rented resort premises had been converted into a call centre to run the scam. The syndicate allegedly posed as women believed to be from Indonesia to manipulate victims emotionally.

“Their modus operandi was to send messages before building relationships through WhatsApp without video calls, and eventually deceiving victims into sending money,” he told reporters at the Tanah Merah police headquarters.

The operation is believed to have been running since late March from noon to midnight daily, and was managed by three supervisors and 55 operators.

Yusoff said at least eight routers used to ensure stable connectivity and evade detection were seized, including satellite internet networks.

Also seized were 46 computers, five laptops and 118 mobile phones, with a total value estimated at RM179,000.

Yusoff said police had yet to determine total losses as no reports had been lodged by Singaporeans who had fallen victim to the syndicate.

Investigations also found that 33 of the 56 foreign nationals had valid travel documents, while the rest did not.

The case is being investigated under Sections 420 and 120B of the Penal Code for cheating. All suspects have been remanded for four days from today to assist in investigations. - FMT