KUCHING, Nov 30: Immigration officers detained 52 Chinese nationals suspected to be involved in online scams at a five-storey building in Pending yesterday.
State Immigration director Datuk Ken Leben said the suspects, 50 males and two females aged between 18 and 35, were arrested during a raid at 10.30pm at the height of their activities.
“When we carried out the raid, the suspects were believed to be busy making calls and carrying out their scamming. It is believed that their operations at the current premise had been running for seven months,” he told a press conference at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar here today.
A total of 199 handphones, 84 laptops, 14 desktops, nine Internet routers and one printer were confiscated during the raid. Also seized were 15 pieces of Automated Teller Machine cards and 68 prepaid SIM cards.
“Based on the investigation, among the 52 suspects who were arrested, there were six of them who managed to produce travelling documents, while the others failed to do so,” Ken said.
He added that the suspects will also be charged for failing to produce proper trevel documents.
“We are also investigating whether the raided premise (operation) is linked with the premises that were raided recently at Sabah and Cyberjaya,” he said, when asked whether the operation was connected to the recent busts.
Ken called on the public to become whistleblower and provide the authorities with information, when they come in contact or heard of such suspicious activities in their area.
He urged the public not to cover for the illegal immigrants or Pati (pendatang tanpa izin), as it is against the law to protect them.
“Do provide us with the necessary information, it will be very useful,” he said. — DayakDaily
