KUALA TERENGGANU: Five men and a woman were arrested by police over land fraud involving losses of about RM1.8 million in the state.
Terengganu police chief Datuk Rosli Abdul Rahman said the suspects, aged between 40 and 65, were arrested under “Ops Pekaka” that was carried out together with the Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department.
He said all members of the syndicate were arrested in Selangor, Pahang and Kuala Lumpur, between early January and February this year.
“With the arrests, we believe they were involved in 18 cases of fraudulent land deals involving losses amounting to RM1.8 million. A total of 15 charges were made in Kuala Terengganu, Setiu, Dungun and Kemaman, last week,” he told reporters, here today.
He said police were still on the look-out for two to three other individuals believed to be involved as well, to facilitate investigations.
He said during the arrests, police seized cash, three luxury cars and a bank account – all worth about RM152,000, from the suspects who hailed from Johor, Negri Sembilan and Sarawak.
“An investigation paper has been opened under the Anti-Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 … among the assets seized were a bank account, RM3,000 cash, BMW and Toyota cars,” he said.
According to him, the “modus operandi” used by the syndicate was to contact and convince victims, prior to arranging a meeting and further discussing plans to purchase land.
However, he said, after the payment is made, the victims would not be able to contact the suspects, and upon checking with the land office, they would find out that the land offered did not exist and grants issued were false.
He said the syndicate was believed to use titles Datuk and Haji to convince victims, who mostly comprised villagers and pensioners.
In the meantime, he said, a total of 36 land fraud deals involving losses of about RM3.4 million had been reported in the country from 2007 until this year, and of the total, 18 were from Terengganu. — Bernama
