KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 — A shuttered resort in Pahang was allegedly turned into a 24-hour scam call centre by an international syndicate that used Starlink internet and lookouts in an apparent attempt to stay under the radar, Utusan Malaysia reported.
The syndicate was believed to have paid about RM30,000 a month to rent the secluded property in Jalan Sungai Arang, Sungai Lembing, where it had operated for around three months before Immigration officers raided it yesterday.
A total of 98 people were detained, including 95 foreigners and three Malaysians, one of whom was believed to be the resort’s owner.
Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the raid followed about a month of intelligence gathering by the department’s Intelligence and Special Operations Division with the Pahang Immigration Department.
“Of the total, 84 were Chinese men and four were Chinese women, while there was also one Myanmar man and one Myanmar woman, an Indonesian woman, a Hong Kong woman, a Vietnamese woman, a Cambodian woman and a Russian woman,” he was quoted as saying.
“We also detained a local man believed to be the owner of the resort, as well as a local man and woman believed to have been working there.”
Those detained were aged between 20 and 75.
Officers seized 100 mobile phones, 120 computers, a CCTV system, nine packs of unused SIM cards, RM5,000 in cash and 11 sets of Starlink telecommunications equipment.
Immigration believes the satellite internet equipment allowed the syndicate to operate without relying on conventional local telecommunications networks.
“Starlink uses a satellite connection and does not depend on conventional telecommunications networks. That is among the methods we believe were used by this syndicate,” Zakaria said.
The resort had been closed for about a year and last operated in 2025, according to Immigration records.
“The location is fairly remote, and the syndicate also used certain individuals as lookouts to monitor movement in and out of the area,” Zakaria said.
Investigators believe the syndicate ran the operation around the clock in shifts and moved between countries to avoid detection.
“Based on records in the passports seized, there is evidence showing that they had previously been in and operated in several other countries, including Cambodia and Vietnam,” Zakaria said.
“Their modus operandi was to operate in a particular country for a certain period before moving to another country to prevent their activities from being detected.”
Authorities also seized 49 Chinese passports, as well as one passport each from Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Russia, along with an Indonesian passport-equivalent travel document.
Zakaria said 42 Chinese men and two Chinese women, a Myanmar man and woman, a Hong Kong woman and an Indonesian woman were detained over suspected offences under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
Another 41 Chinese men, three Chinese women and a Russian woman were detained under Section 15(1)(c) of the same Act, while a Chinese man and Cambodian woman are being investigated under Regulation 39(b) of the Immigration Regulations 1963.
The three Malaysians were detained on suspicion of offences under Section 56(1)(d) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
