Police Bust Multiple Transnational Online Scam Syndicates, 187 Suspects Arrested—Nearly 70% Are Chinese Nationals

Police have busted several transnational online scam syndicates, arresting 187 local and foreign male and female suspects, and seizing assets and property worth a total of RM57.68 million.

Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Khalid stated that the Commercial Crime Investigation Department, over a 48-hour period starting from last Wednesday (6th), conducted 46 "Operation Solid 2.0" raids, targeting several residential units and luxury apartments across the Klang Valley to crack down on increasingly rampant cross-border online scams.

He said that the police arrested 151 men and 36 women, with the suspects coming from Malaysia, China, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, the Philippines, and Myanmar; among them, 129 suspects were Chinese nationals.

He revealed that the police seized 3 luxury properties worth a total of RM38 million, 20 luxury cars worth RM6.58 million, as well as 67 luxury watches, branded bags, jewelry, wallets, gold bars, and other luxury items, with a total value of about RM12 million.

He said at a press conference on Friday that police also seized 556 electronic devices, including mobile phones, computers, and laptops, valued at an estimated RM552,000, and froze cash, foreign currencies, bank cards, and cryptocurrency assets worth about RM549,786.

At a press conference on Friday, he said that police are still tracking three local and foreign male and female suspects to assist with the investigation.

He cited police investigations showing that the scam syndicates used Malaysia as their operations base, with victims spanning Hong Kong, China, South Korea, and Japan, and were involved in fraudulent investment schemes, phone scams impersonating Japanese police, romance scams, and online gambling scams.

“The suspects lured people in Hong Kong and China to invest through fake investment platforms, and used communication software such as Telegram to impersonate Japanese law enforcement officers for scams; romance scams targeted victims in South Korea and Japan, defrauding money through online relationships.”

Khalid revealed that as of 2025, losses in Malaysia caused by scam cases have already exceeded RM2.8 billion.

He urged the public to remain vigilant, and if they suspect they have been scammed, to immediately contact the police and the National Scam Response Center (NSRC) via the 997 hotline for assistance.

He said that all the foreign nationals arrested in "Operation Solid 2.0" held valid entry documents, but police do not rule out the possibility that some entered the country as tourists and later participated in fraud activities.

He emphasized that Malaysia is actively promoting tourism, and the number of tourists this year will exceed 45 million, but only a very small number are involved in commercial crimes.

Currently, police are investigating under Section 420 of the Penal Code (cheating), Section 120B (criminal conspiracy), Section 5 of the 1997 Computer Crimes Act, and the 2001 Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act, with 24 case files opened.

He said that police will continue to work with the Immigration Department and related enforcement agencies to strengthen the monitoring of foreign entrants, to prevent Malaysia from being used as a base for illegal syndicates.