KAJANG: Malaysian authorities have arrested 12 policemen, including four officers from the federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department, for an alleged gang robbery of about RM200,000 (US$51,000) in cryptocurrency after a bungalow raid.
The arrests came after a 31-year-old Chinese national claiming to be a market surveyor lodged a police report.
All occupants of the house are Chinese nationals, who were in Malaysia at the invitation of a local company for business talks, according to their lawyer, who only wanted to be identified as Charles, reported news outlet New Straits Times (NST) on Thursday (Feb 19). They had entered Malaysia between Jan 27 and 30, and most were in the country for the first time, Charles said.
The officers detained are an assistant police superintendent, an inspector, a sergeant, six corporals, two lance corporals and a constable, reported NST. They are aged 24 to 47.
The officers from the district’s commercial crime unit raided the double-storey bungalow at around 11pm on Feb 5, according to NST’s sources familiar with the matter.
The officers told the occupants they were on an anti-scam operation codenamed “Op Taring”, and suspected the occupants of being involved in online fraud activities linked to a Cambodian scam syndicate.
“After inspecting their electronic devices and passports, no evidence of criminal activity was found,” a source told NST, who added that there was no record of the complainant and his friends travelling to Cambodia.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/policemen-malaysia-arrested-crypto-robbery-5939731
