KUALA LUMPUR: Police have arrested 71 individuals, including eight foreigners, for allegedly acting as mule account holders in 59 raids conducted nationwide under Op Khas Kad ATM.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa said the operation was carried out in collaboration with Bank Negara Malaysia to thwart cash withdrawals by fraud syndicates based on cases reported to the National Scam Response Centre.
He said of the 59 raids carried out between July 29 and 31, 24 took place in Kuala Lumpur, followed by 11 in Penang, eight in Sabah, five in Perak, four in Pahang, three in Selangor, and two each in Negeri Sembilan and Sarawak.
“Those arrested, aged between 19 and 50, comprised 55 local men, eight local women and eight foreign men, namely four from Bangladesh and one each from China, Nigeria, Myanmar and Indonesia,” Rusdi told a press conference at Menara KPJ here today.
He said police also seized 925 ATM cards, RM392,266 in cash, 100 mobile phones, 32 SIM cards, 16 bags, 55 documents, two blank cheque books, a cheque receipt valued at RM90,961.24, five cars, a laptop and a printer.
Rusdi said police had opened 42 investigation papers involving offences under Sections 420, 424, 424A and 511 of the Penal Code, along with Sections 5(2), 15A(1)(b) and 29AA of the Moneylenders Act 1951.
He said initial investigations revealed that the suspects were involved in a phone scam syndicate, non-existent loans, illegal moneylending activities and operating as unlicensed money changers or remittance agents.
According to him, 16 individuals had been brought to court, with six charged under the Minor Offences Act 1955 and 10 under Section 424A of the Penal Code, while 55 others had been released on police bail pending completion of investigations.
He advised the public not to get involved in activities such as lending or leasing out their bank accounts or acting as runners to withdraw cash using ATM cards belonging to others, as such actions constituted criminal offences. – Bernama