TWENTY-one people, including four suspected masterminds, have been arrested in an Immigration Department operation targeting an alleged online love scam syndicate operating from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Nilai, Negeri Sembilan.
Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the special operation, which began at 5.55pm the day before yesterday, followed a month-long intelligence-gathering exercise and information from the public.
He said the operation was conducted by officers from the Intelligence and Special Operations Division together with the Security and Passport Division at the Immigration Department headquarters in Putrajaya.
"The operational team deployed to KLIA detained a local man believed to be a syndicate member, together with a Chinese man and woman aged between 50 and 53," he said in a statement today.
Questioning the trio subsequently led officers to a residence in Taman Desa Melati, Nilai, where 18 more foreigners, aged between 23 and 33, were detained.
Four of those arrested are believed to be the syndicate's main masterminds — two Chinese men, a Chinese woman and a Russian woman.
"The syndicate members arrested comprised nine Chinese men and one Chinese woman.
"Also detained were a Vanuatu man, a Pakistani man, and an Indian woman and a Myanmar woman," he said.
Initial checks found that all the foreigners detained at the residence had entered Malaysia using Social Visit Passes.
Zakaria said the syndicate had allegedly converted a luxury residence in a secluded area into an operations centre, using Telegram and WhatsApp to target victims overseas through romance scams and the sale of counterfeit goods.
"They used scripts prepared to deceive victims overseas. They were paid commissions based on the number of victims they successfully deceived," he said.
The syndicate is believed to have generated up to US$50,000 (RM202,280) from the activities, which had reportedly been operating since early this year.
Investigations also found that the syndicate allegedly facilitated the entry of foreigners into Malaysia by targeting Chinese nationals who had been blacklisted by the Immigration Department.
Zakaria said the two Chinese nationals detained at KLIA were believed to have used passports bearing different numbers to circumvent entry restrictions.
"Passports that were not blacklisted were used to pass through the e-Gates at KLIA. Checks on both suspects found the blacklisted passports inside their bags," he said.
"The local man detained is believed to have been responsible for transporting the two Chinese nationals to designated locations for between RM150 and RM500 per person, depending on the destination," he said.
The operation at KLIA resulted in the seizure of four Chinese passports, four mobile phones and a Proton X70 believed to have been used by the syndicate.
At the Nilai residence, officers seized 28 Chinese passports, as well as one passport each from Myanmar, India, Vanuatu and Russia.
They also seized 11 desktop computers, a laptop, 40 mobile phones and RM4,800 in cash believed to be proceeds from the syndicate's activities.
Zakaria said the local man and four alleged masterminds were detained for suspected offences under Section 56(1)(d) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
"The other foreigners were detained for suspected offences under Section 15(1)(c) of the same Act and Regulation 39(b) of the Immigration Regulations 1963," he said.
"All those arrested were brought to the Putrajaya Immigration Office for further action," he said. - August 21, 2026
