KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 — Police have dismantled a cross-border prostitution syndicate that used Malaysia as an offshore operational command centre to market sex workers to clients in Singapore, arresting one local and 29 foreign nationals in a coordinated bilateral blitz.
The joint crackdown, dubbed Op Noda – Rentas Sempadan, was mounted on Oct 20 by Bukit Aman’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) alongside the Singapore Police Force (SPF) to stamp out networks managing online vice portals targeting Singaporean clientele.
“The success of this operation proves the effectiveness of the strategic synergy between the Royal Malaysia Police and the SPF through the sharing of intelligence, in achieving our common objective of curbing the activities of cross-border prostitution syndicates between both countries,” Bukit Aman CID director Datuk M. Kumarsaid in a statement today.
Equipped with intelligence on fugitives wanted across the Causeway, strike teams from Bukit Aman and the Johor contingent CID launched simultaneous raids on residential properties across Kuala Lumpur and Johor.
The opening wave of raids netted one Malaysian and eight foreign nationals, comprising five men and four women aged between 29 and 56. Checks on confiscated travel documents identified the foreign suspects as seven Chinese nationals and one Singaporean.
Investigators believe all nine operated as core members of a vice network wanted by the SPF under Section 146A(1)(b) of Singapore’s Women’s Charter 1961 and Section 109 of its Penal Code. Authorities also discovered that the Singaporean and four of the Chinese nationals were residing in Malaysia on expired visas.
Arrangements are underway to extradite the nine suspects to Singapore via Bukit Aman CID’s D12 division (Interpol/NCB) once their identities are confirmed before a magistrate under Section 5(3) of the Summons and Warrants (Special Provisions) Act 1971.
A concurrent phase of the operation netted another 21 foreign nationals, consisting of five men and 16 women aged 19 to 41, who are suspected of administering the syndicate’s online promotional machinery. The group includes 17 Chinese nationals, three Vietnamese, and one Laotian. Officers seized an array of electronic gadgets and communications gear allegedly used to field client queries and coordinate bookings.
The 21 suspects have been remanded under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code. They face prosecution under Section 372(1)(e) of the Penal Code for exploiting individuals for prostitution through advertisements, an offence punishable by up to 15 years in prison, caning, and a fine.
They are also being investigated under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for entering and remaining without a valid pass, which carries fines up to RM10,000, a maximum five-year jail term, and up to six strokes of the cane, alongside Section 15(1)(c) for overstaying.
Intelligence suggests the syndicate had operated in Singapore since 2024. By shifting its telecommunications hub and web hosting management to Malaysian residential hideouts, the syndicate sought to evade detection and complicate enforcement action by Singapore authorities.
Kumar warned that police will sustain “total enforcement” alongside local municipal authorities against all illicit vice networks, citing their destabilising toll on the economy and public welfare, and urged the community to continue tipping off law enforcement on cross-border syndicates.