Bukit Aman’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) will send a team of officers to Pakistan to gather more information on the 130 Malaysians detained in Pakistan last month in a raid on an alleged scam call centre, its director Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa said on Thursday (Nov 12).
The Malaysians were detained on Oct 13 when Pakistani authorities raided a building in Bahria Town, Rawalpindi, that was allegedly being used as a call centre for financial fraud targeting victims in Malaysia. Rusdi said Malaysian police were only told about the arrests at the end of October, through official channels between the Home Ministry and the Pakistani authorities.
He told the department’s monthly press conference that the team would meet the Pakistani authorities, record statements and examine the devices seized in the raid. The officers will also try to find out who brought the Malaysians to Pakistan.
Examining the evidence was important to uncover how the syndicate operated, including whether it used Malaysian police uniforms to deceive victims, he said. The syndicate allegedly posed as bank customer service staff and police officers and told victims they were being investigated for money laundering.
Rusdi said the identities of all 130 had been confirmed with the help of embassies and Interpol. Of them, 59 are from Sabah and 57 from Sarawak, while the rest are from Johor, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Kelantan.
Checks showed that 92 of them have no criminal record in Malaysia, while the others have records for offences including drugs, fraud and gambling. Two are wanted by police in connection with fraud cases in Sabah.
He added that 107 had overstayed their visas in Pakistan, 20 had valid visas, two had their visas extended and one had no valid travel documents. They arrived in Pakistan in stages between June 8 and Sept 29, with the largest group of 53 arriving on Aug 3.
Many of them claimed they had been lured by job offers, but Rusdi said some were believed to have known they would be working for a scam syndicate, in roles such as call operators, cooks and supervisors.
The case comes as police step up action against scam call centres at home. On Thursday, Sarawak police said they had crippled seven online scam syndicates and arrested 42 people in raids on homes in five towns.