BUKIT MERTAJAM – Penang police busted a syndicate that carried out fraudulent online shopping activities following the arrest of 23 Taiwanese nationals in a raid at a luxury bungalow in Batu Ferringhi in Penang last Saturday.
In the raid that occurred at about 6.30pm, police encountered difficulty entering the bungalow and had to break the door which took about 10 minutes. They then found all the suspects who were also the syndicate’s employees.
State police chief Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said all the suspects, comprising 17 men and six women, are between the ages of 19 and 48.
He said they arrived in the country after being attracted by a job offer advertised in a Taiwanese newspaper which offered a lucrative salary of up to RM7,000 a month.
“The activity only started last month where the syndicate would advertise various branded items such as handbags, perfumes and other luxury items sold online to Taiwan locals.
“Victims who were deceived by the advertisement were then instructed to make payment through the platform from the link provided by the syndicate,” he said at a press conference at the Seberang Prai Tengah district police station here today.
Shuhaily said that so far all the victims who were deceived by the syndicate were Taiwanese and the scam did not involve locals.
Police believe that the syndicate managed to erase important evidence before the raiding team managed to break the door of the bungalow.
“Police also confiscated several smartphones, laptops of various brands, walkie-talkies, prepaid cards, pen drives, portable wifi and wifi router.
“All the suspects have valid travel documents and are now remanded for six days to assist in the investigation under Section 420 of the Penal Code,” he said, referring to the provision on the offences related to cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property. – The Vibes, June 27, 2022
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