Major Scam Syndicate Busted At Abandoned Pahang Resort With Starlink, Generators & Their Own Chef
Members stayed on site to avoid raising suspicion, and they even had kitchen staff to prepare their daily meals.
Cover image via Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp for the latest stories and breaking news.
A joint investigation between the Immigration Department, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), and the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) is underway after authorities dismantled a sophisticated, off-grid scam syndicate operating from an abandoned resort in Sungai Lembing, Pahang
Enforcement officers executed a targeted raid at 12.50pm on 5 October along Jalan Sungai Arang following a month of surveillance, according to the New Straits Times.
The operation resulted in the arrest of 98 individuals, comprising 95 foreign nationals and three Malaysians aged between 20 and 75. Among the foreign suspects were 88 Chinese nationals, two Myanmar nationals, and one individual each from Indonesia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Russia.
The three detained Malaysians include the property owner and two local employees who worked as site lookouts, monitoring incoming traffic.
Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the syndicate chose the isolated property, which ceased commercial operations last year, to conceal its 24-hour operations
The New Straits Times also reported that the group relied entirely on industrial generators to power 120 desktop computers, 100 mobile phones, and 11 Starlink satellite Internet terminals, which were all seized during the bust.
Officers also recovered nine packets of unused SIM cards and RM5,000 in cash.
Investigators believe the syndicate used Starlink satellite connectivity to bypass local telecommunications infrastructure and evade digital tracking by domestic regulatory authorities.
Initial findings indicate that the syndicate operated in round-the-clock shifts, assigning strict daily performance targets to workers targeting victims in their home countries
Passport records revealed that the syndicate maintained a highly mobile operational strategy, operating in Cambodia for approximately nine months before relocating to Malaysia to avoid law enforcement detection.
The syndicate operated as a self-contained ecosystem to minimise movement outside the site. Members remained on-site full-time, relying on hired kitchen staff to prepare daily meals using provisions delivered to the property.
Authorities are determining whether some of the foreign detainees were victims of human trafficking or job scam operations and were forced into labour
Of the 88 Chinese nationals detained, only 49 possessed valid passports, many of which bore expired visas, while the remaining 39 had no travel documentation at all, raising questions about how they entered the country.
The inter-agency probe continues as authorities determine the exact financial mechanisms and scam methods used by the syndicate. All suspects are currently held under the Immigration Act 1959/63 at the Putrajaya Immigration Depot.
