Malaysia raid in Forest City nets 335 in online scam crackdown
What's new: Police said 159 suspects were set to be charged, and victims were targeted in China and Indonesia through fake crypto and romance scams.
Johor police arrested 335 people in a July 15 raid on two online scam syndicates operating from Forest City in Iskandar Puteri, a waterfront development in southern Malaysia. The suspects, ages 20 to 58, included 309 Chinese nationals, 19 Indonesians, four Myanmar nationals and three Malaysians. Police said the groups used 27 apartment units and five bungalows for schemes including fake cryptocurrency investments, romance scams and bogus job-recruitment offers aimed at victims abroad, especially in China and Indonesia. Officers seized 313 computers, 1,557 mobile phones, 17 laptops and a Mazda CX-8. Authorities said 159 suspects were expected to be charged, while some others also face immigration-related cases.