KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 — Police have arrested 187 suspects from nine countries in a major crackdown on international online scam syndicates operating out of the Klang Valley.
Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Khalid Ismail said the operation, dubbed Op Teguh 2.0, involved 46 raids on residential premises believed to be used as bases for cross-border scam activities.
“The breakdown of arrests that I mentioned earlier shows that these activities are not concentrated in a single country. They appear to have formed syndicates working together to carry out scams, using our country as an operational base.
“Investigations are also ongoing into how the suspects entered the country, including whether through social visit passes or other means,” he told a press conference at Bukit Aman here today.
He said a total of 151 men and 36 women were arrested; some are Malaysians and the rest are from China, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, the Philippines and Myanmar.
Khalid said 24 reports have been filed and are being investigated under several laws, including Section 420 and Section 120B of the Penal Code, Section 5 of the Computer Crimes Act 1997, and Section 4(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act.
The assets seized are estimated to be worth RM57.68 million. Among them are:
- Three luxury properties valued at RM38 million
- 20 high-end vehicles worth RM6.58 million
- 67 luxury goods, such as watches, handbags, jewellery, wallets and gold bars, all valued at RM12 million
- 556 digital devices worth RM552,000,
- Cryptocurrency assets worth RM549,786
- Cash in ringgit and foreign currencies
- Debit and credit cards
Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Khalid Ismail (right) showing some of the luxury vehicles seized from an international scam syndicate operating out of the Klang Valley during a press conference on Op Teguh 2.0 at the Bukit Aman police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on May 15, 2026. — Bernama pic
Preliminary investigations found that victims from Hong Kong, China, South Korea and Japan were among those targeted by the syndicates.
Khalid said the groups used several scam tactics, including fake investment platforms targeting victims in Hong Kong and China, impersonation scams involving fake Japanese police officers on Telegram, romance scams aimed at victims in Korea and Japan, and illegal online gambling operations.
Asked why Malaysia was frequently used as a base for such activities, Khalid said visa-free entry facilities and other factors may have made the country attractive to syndicates.
He added that all foreign suspects detained possessed valid travel documents based on initial checks.
Police are now working with the Immigration Department and other agencies to monitor the entry of foreign nationals more closely and curb similar activities.
