In recent times, the police in Johor, Malaysia conducted surprise raids on several locations involved in online fraud activities in the Forest City of the state, resulting in the arrest of 335 individuals, including 309 Chinese citizens.
During a press conference held yesterday (28th), the Johor State Police Chief Abdul Rahman Al-Saadi stated that the detainees consisted of 309 Chinese citizens, 19 Indonesian citizens, 4 Burmese citizens, and 3 locals, with ages ranging from 20 to 58 years old.
Some of the suspects were found to possess invalid travel documents, raising suspicions about their activities in the region.
Two criminal syndicates were discovered to be engaged in various online fraud schemes, including cryptocurrency investment scams and romance scams, mainly targeting foreign nationals, particularly Chinese and Indonesians.
According to reports from Malaysian media outlets such as “Malaysia Qianfeng News,” Bernama, The Star, and Malay Mail, Rahman mentioned that in the joint operation, the police raided 27 apartments and 5 bungalows in Forest City, which were being used as operational bases by these call center fraud groups. Authorities seized assets worth approximately $245,000 and equipment valued at around 1 million Malaysian Ringgit used in perpetrating fraudulent activities.
The law enforcement operation also led to the confiscation of 313 computers, 1557 mobile phones, 17 laptops, and 10 modems.
Forest City, a large artificial island development in Malaysia by Chinese developer Country Garden, was launched under the framework of China’s Belt and Road Initiative with an investment of $100 billion. However, the project turned into a ‘ghost city’ due to Country Garden’s debt crisis. Subsequently, with Country Garden (holding a 60% stake) struggling financially and unable to continue extensive land reclamation, the Malaysian local joint venture partner (with ties to Malaysia’s paramount ruler Sultan Ibrahim who holds a 40% stake) and the Malaysian federal government intervened in the project.