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POLICE have arrested a woman believed to be working part-time for a phone scam syndicate following two separate raids carried out around the Klang Valley last Saturday, after a university student was allegedly cheated into handing over cash and jewellery worth more than RM130,000.
Wangsa Maju police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohamad Lazim Ismail said the suspect, a 29-year-old professional employed by a private company, is believed to have deceived the victim and escaped with cash and jewellery, including gold pieces weighing a total of 172.77 grammes.
“On January 10, a local woman who is also a university student lodged a report claiming she was deceived by a phone scam syndicate involving an individual impersonating a senior Bukit Aman officer,” he said at a press conference at the Wangsa Maju district police headquarters here today.
According to Mohamad Lazim, the 18-year-old victim initially received a call from someone claiming to be an officer from Touch ’n Go, who alleged that her personal details had been misused for criminal activities.
The call was then transferred to an individual posing as a police officer holding the rank of Assistant Commissioner.
He said the victim was told she was allegedly involved in money laundering activities and was being investigated under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA). She was instructed to report her movements every three hours via WhatsApp.
“The victim was later directed to meet a woman, the suspect, who was also impersonating a police officer, and to hand over her cash and jewellery, purportedly for investigation purposes,” he said.
Mohamad Lazim said the victim only realised she had been scammed after informing her mother about the incident, before lodging a police report.
Acting on information received, a team from the Wangsa Maju Commercial Crime Investigation Division arrested three individuals, namely the main suspect and two gold shop operators.
“Police also recovered and seized a Proton Iriz believed to have been used by the suspect when meeting the victim, handbags, mobile phones, a necklace, rings, brooches, gold sale receipts, melted gold lumps, as well as RM560 in cash,” he said.
The total value of the seized items is estimated at more than RM132,360, and the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
Mohamad Lazim said the main suspect has been remanded to assist further investigations, as police believe she was not acting alone and may be part of a wider syndicate.
He added that the other two suspects, a local man and woman aged 28 and 46, will be treated as prosecution witnesses. - January 15, 2026
