Six Held Over Online Gaming Scam Run From Abandoned Hotel

Police have arrested six men, including four Bangladeshi nationals, over an alleged online gaming scam that was run from an abandoned hotel in Taman Lagenda near Sungai Petani.

Kuala Muda police chief ACP Hanyan Ramlan said the syndicate is believed to have been active since June and targeted victims from the Bangladeshi community.

Two Raids in Three Days

A team from the Commercial Crime Investigation Division (CCID) of the Kuala Muda District Police Headquarters raided the premises at about 9.30pm on Wednesday (Oct 21) and detained four Bangladeshi men aged between 20 and 53.

In a follow-up operation on Friday (Oct 23), police arrested two Malaysian men aged 40 and 50. They are believed to be the owner of the premises and an agent who handled renting it to the suspects.

Police seized 17 mobile phones, four computer processing units, eight monitors, two modems, a laptop and RM2,442 in cash.

How the Online Gaming Scam Allegedly Worked

According to Hanyan, the group is believed to have handled credit top-ups for online games, communicating with customers through a website and WhatsApp.

When customers tried to withdraw their winnings, the transactions were left showing a “pending withdrawal” status, so the money never reached them.

“Customers’ withdrawals of their winnings were deliberately delayed,” Hanyan told a press conference at the Kuala Muda district police headquarters on Sunday (Oct 25).

He said the four Bangladeshi suspects are believed to have been paid about RM2,700 a month each for their work. Preliminary checks indicate that around 17 customer accounts a day were affected, with estimated losses of about RM2,000 a day.

Investigation Continues

The case is being investigated under Sections 420 and 120B of the Penal Code. Police did not say when the suspects would be charged, and the total number of victims and overall losses have not been disclosed.

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