(Johor, July 28) — Details continue to emerge from the Forest City scam bust that saw Johor police dismantle a sprawling scam call centre network spread across two residential areas, resulting in 335 arrests in what officers describe as the state's biggest such operation to date.
The July 15 raid covered 32 separate premises — 27 apartment units in a five-storey Forest City building and five detached bungalows in Tebrau. Those arrested were aged between 20 and 58, and included 309 Chinese nationals, 19 Indonesians, four Myanmar nationals, and three Malaysians providing local support.
Investigators found that many of the foreign suspects had entered Malaysia only weeks before their arrest, with some holding social visit passes and others unable to produce valid travel documents at all. The syndicate reportedly lured recruits with promised monthly salaries of between RM2,500 and RM4,000, with additional commissions offered to those who met scam targets — recruitment largely conducted through Telegram, WhatsApp and TikTok.
The entire Forest City apartment block was leased in bulk under a company linked to a Chinese national, suggesting a level of organisational planning beyond a typical small-scale operation. In Tebrau, the five bungalows were rented out separately by different individuals, each of whom police are now investigating.
A combined total of 313 computers and 1,557 mobile phones were recovered from both locations, along with modems, monitors and other equipment worth roughly RM1 million. Investigators noted that the Tebrau site alone yielded close to a thousand devices worth more than RM1 million, underscoring the scale of the operation.
Of the 335 suspects detained, 194 have since been formally charged, while nine investigation papers remain pending review by the Deputy Public Prosecutor. Johor police chief Datuk Rahman said the force remains committed to tracking down the syndicate's full network, including its still-at-large ringleader, and will continue working alongside Interpol on the cross-border dimensions of the case.
Police have appealed to the public to report any suspicious rental activity or unusual movement of electronic equipment within residential areas, noting that such tips could help uncover similar operations hiding in plain sight.
