13 suspects held over African scam syndicate

KUALA LUMPUR: Police have solved 35 cases involving an African scam syndicate, with the arrests of 13 suspects, aged between 25 and 35, at six locations in the Klang Valley.

The suspects comprised 11 men and two women from Africa.

Federal police Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani yesterday said the suspects were responsible for losses of RM941,700.

He said investigations revealed that the syndicate had been active for several months.

“They con not only Malaysians, but also victims from Singapore, the United States and Australia,” he said, adding that the suspects had claimed to be studying here.

He said 21 mobile phones, seven laptops, automated teller machine cards, six passports and a car were seized.

Acryl said, between January and last month, police received 1,719 reports of African scams involving losses amounting to RM66 million.

He said one case involved a male victim who was told to pay a sum of money to collect a valuable item from a courier company.

Acryl said another case involved a Malaysian man who was told to transfer money to a woman who claimed to be facing financial problems.

“Do not trust strangers you meet online. People need to be reminded that banks or government agencies require people to go to their premises if large transactions are involved.”

In another case, police on Monday arrested five men and seized 100,668 pieces of pirated VCDs and DVDs worth more than RM800,000 at five places in the Klang Valley.