Peruvian police rescued at least 40 Malaysians who were being trafficked to commit online fraud organized by a syndicate.
The Malaysian nationals were allegedly forced to participate in what officials called the "Macau scam," where they called companies in Malaysia and Taiwan to demand money while posing as banks, law enforcement personnel, or justice officials.
Peru Rescues Malaysian Victims of Macau Scam
Malaysia's foreign ministry noted that Peruvian police discovered the 43 Malaysian nationals after a raid on a house in La Molina in the capital of Lima on Oct. 7. The ministry added that representatives from its embassy had visited the nationals and found them in good health.
The Peruvian police who rescued the Malaysians also arrested six Taiwanese and two Peruvians during the raid. In a statement, officials said all victims have been investigated and will be repatriated to Malaysia soon.
Additionally, activists and government officials said many Malaysians have been lured by lucrative job offers in Southeast Asian nations, including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand. However, they end up being made to defraud people online with internet romances and cryptocurrency schemes, as per The Guardian.
The captives allegedly entered Peru in September after being lured via social networks with the promises of work in casinos in the region's capital, Lima. They told investigators they were taken to Amsterdam in the Netherlands before being transported to Peru.
Police said that after the Malaysian nationals arrived in Peru, members of a Taiwanese crime group called Red Dragon took away their passports and cut them off from communicating with relatives. A police operation was conducted after two women managed to escape and alert authorities of the situation.
Scam Companies
Investigators seized over $10,000, dozens of mobile phones, and bank cards from the house where the Malaysian nationals were being held. According to Fox News, despite the arrests, officials provided no further details on how the syndicate lured the Malaysians or how they were transported to Peru.
In a similar incident, the Malaysia International Humanitarian Organization (MHO) provided crucial intelligence to the Cambodian police, successfully rescuing a stranded Malaysian victim trapped in a job scam. Furthermore, they were able to dismantle a notorious scam syndicate compound located in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
Local law enforcement personnel also managed to arrest three Chinese nationals, including the supposed ringleader, and they liberated more than 200 people who were subjected to forced labor within the scam company.
The MHO representative, Azirul Syafiq, accompanied a Malaysian victim on Oct. 7 on their journey back to Kuala Lumpur International Airport's second terminal. The development marked the end of a two-month struggle that unfolded in the depths of Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
Syafiq unveiled during a press conference held at the airport the details of how MHO established contact with the victim, gathering invaluable information about the illicit operations of the scam company that took them in and forced them to work against their will, said the Khmer Times.