(Johor, July 28) — In what is being described as the largest scam call centre operation ever uncovered in Johor, police carried out a sweeping Forest City scam bust that led to the arrest of 335 individuals across 32 premises in the Iskandar Puteri area, covering both Forest City in Tanjung Kupang and the Tebrau neighbourhood.
The raid, conducted on July 15, targeted 27 apartment units within a single five-storey building in Forest City, along with five bungalows in Tebrau. Those detained ranged in age from 20 to 58, with Chinese nationals making up the overwhelming majority at 309 people. The remainder comprised 19 Indonesians, four Myanmar nationals and three Malaysians.
Investigators say the syndicate was split into two distinct operations. The larger group, based in Forest City, occupied all 27 units of the apartment block and involved 279 suspects running cryptocurrency investment schemes alongside romance scams, primarily targeting victims in China and Indonesia. The second group, operating out of five bungalows in Tebrau, comprised 56 suspects who posed as a law firm to defraud victims in China, Japan, Australia and the United States.
Police seized a substantial haul of equipment during the operation, including computers, mobile phones and other electronic devices worth an estimated RM1 million in total, along with a Mazda CX-8 SUV. The scale of the seizure points to a highly organised and well-resourced operation capable of running large numbers of simultaneous scam calls and messages.
Johor police chief Datuk Rahman confirmed the case as the largest scam call centre bust in the state's history, stressing that authorities will not allow Malaysia, and Johor in particular, to become an operating base for international scam syndicates. He added that further arrests cannot be ruled out as investigations continue.
So far, 23 cases have been opened for investigation, with 194 individuals formally charged in court. The mastermind believed to be behind the Forest City operation remains at large, and police say they are working with Interpol to trace the wider transnational network behind the scheme.
Authorities have urged members of the public who may have information related to the syndicate to come forward, as investigations continue into how the group established itself within upscale residential developments in the Iskandar Puteri area.
About the Author
