KUALA LUMPUR: The Immigration Department has raided a homestay used as a call centre to defraud South Koreans through fake investment schemes, arresting 34 people.
The syndicate is believed to have been operating for three months, using social media platforms and messaging applications to lure victims with investment schemes promising high returns within a short period.
Immigration Department director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the operation yesterday also led to the arrest of two local men who allegedly received RM3,000 to guard the premises and supervise the workers.
"Those arrested comprised 31 people from China, including 29 men and two women, a Taiwanese man and two local men, aged between 20 and 51.
"Initial checks found that three Chinese men had overstayed their permits, while the other foreigners did not have valid travel documents or passes to remain in the country," he said in a statement.
Zakaria said the operation was conducted by officers from the department's Intelligence and Special Operations Division, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission in Cyberjaya and the state Immigration Department, following a month of intelligence gathering.
"The syndicate used a homestay as its operational base to avoid detection by the authorities.
"Investigations found that its operators were assigned three main roles: handling customer service, managing investment-related information and maintaining customer data.
"The operators were also allegedly prohibited from leaving the premises throughout their working hours, with food delivered by the two local men. The syndicate operated from 8am to 8pm daily," he said.
Zakaria said items seized during the raid included 309 mobile phones, 45 computers, five routers, a gigabit switch, a portable WiFi device, three Chinese passports, a gate remote control and 21 notebooks containing instructions on how to defraud victims.
The total value of the seized items was estimated at RM318,600.
"The two local men were detained for suspected offences under Section 56(1)(d) of the Immigration Act, while the foreigners were detained for suspected offences under Sections 6(1)(c) and 15(1)(c) of the same Act," he said.
Those detained were taken to the Putrajaya Immigration Office for further investigation.
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