Luxury resort bungalow, hotel rooms turned into scam bases; 29 foreigners held

A luxury bungalow and four hotel rooms at a resort in Melaka, Malaysia have been turned into bases for suspected online scam operations targeting victims in Vietnam and China.

Police arrested 29 foreign nationals in two raids, including 15 men from Vietnam and one Chinese national. The suspects, aged between 21 and 40, allegedly ran a fraudulent loan scheme and conducted love scams by pretending to be customer service representatives.

Police seized equipment worth approximately RM90,900, including computers, mobile phones, translation devices and passports. Each suspect is believed to have been paid about RM2,500 for their involvement, with all 15 remanded for four days to assist investigations.

In a separate operation, 14 Chinese nationals were arrested in four hotel rooms in Melaka for allegedly operating an investment scam targeting Chinese nationals. The suspects, aged between 21 and 55, received about RM3,000 each. Seized items included 28 mobile phones, four laptops, a tablet, translation devices, 96 prepaid SIM cards and RM6,400 in cash, valued at around RM47,500. All 14 suspects were also remanded for four days.

Assistant Commissioner Halim Abas of Melaka Tengah district police urged the public to be cautious of calls from unknown individuals requesting personal or banking information.