ALOR SETAR: Police have crippled an online fraud syndicate with the arrest of eight men and a woman in an operation in Kedah and Penang last Thursday.

       Kedah police chief Comm Wan Hassan Wan Ahmad said the suspects, aged between 19 and 51, were apprehended by a team from the Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) and state police.

       “The suspects were arrested in four simultaneous raids at 1.15pm and the preliminary investigation found that they have been involved in these activities since last year by impersonating officials from government agencies, including the Inland Revenue Board,” he said.“Police confiscated several items such as laptops, mobile phones, three vehicles and cash amounting to RM14,000.

       “All the suspects have been remanded until Tuesday for investigations under Section 420 of the Penal Code,” he told a press conference yesterday.

       Police are looking for two more men, aged 38 and 41, believed to be involved in the case.

       A total of 1,881 commercial crime cases were recorded in Kedah last year, an increase from 1,125 cases in 2020, of which 90% were related to online purchases, Macau scams, non-existent loans and investments as well as love scams.

       Comm Wan Hassan, reported Bernama, said total losses from such cases in 2021 were over RM28mil compared with RM17mil in 2020.

       He advised the public not to be deceived by phone calls from strangers impersonating officials from government agencies, and to seek confirmation by contacting the CCID Scam Response Centre at 03-2610 1559/1599.