A kidnap-for-ransom syndicate allegedly used fake job offers, holidays, dating and social companionship to lure foreigners to Malaysia before abducting and demanding money from them.
Federal Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk M. Kumar said the syndicate searched for potential victims through dating apps and social media platforms including Telegram, WeChat and Badoo.
After building trust with their targets online, syndicate members would persuade them to meet in person or travel to Malaysia.
That was when the victims would allegedly be taken to a house, held captive and forced to hand over access to their bank accounts.
Fake job offers and online relationships
Kumar said one method involved offering foreigners attractive employment opportunities with high salaries.
In one case, a retired Singaporean consultant was offered a consultancy position in Malaysia with a salary worth several thousand dollars.
After arriving in Malaysia, he was met by a syndicate member and taken to a house where he was confined.
The suspects allegedly gained control of his banking facilities and forced his family to make three payments totalling around S$15,000 into his account.
Woman lured to Penang
In another case, a 33-year-old Chinese woman became acquainted with a foreign woman through WeChat and was invited to Penang, supposedly to meet a man.
Instead, she was allegedly abducted after arriving in Malaysia on Aug 5.
The syndicate then demanded US$20,000, ordering her to contact relatives in China to borrow the money.
Kumar said the woman was also threatened with being sent to Myanmar if the ransom was not paid.
Captives moved between Airbnb houses
Police believe the syndicate deliberately moved victims between short-term rental properties to make it harder for authorities to track them down.
Investigations found that the group had rented several properties in Penang before moving victims to Kedah, with some of the locations being Airbnb rentals.
The house in Taman Amira, Telaga Bata, Alor Setar, where police eventually rescued the Singaporean man and Chinese woman, had reportedly been rented for only one day, from Aug 7 to Aug 8.
Another nearby house was also rented on a short-term basis.
Police shootout leads to rescue
The case came to light after a Bukit Aman team raided a house in Alor Setar on Aug 7, where suspects allegedly opened fire at police.
Two foreign suspects were killed in the shootout.
Inside the house, police found the two victims, a man in his 70s and a foreign woman in her 30s allegedly blindfolded and handcuffed.
Police also recovered two firearms, including a Beretta semi-automatic pistol loaded with five bullets and a revolver containing four bullets, as well as a long parang.
Follow-up raids were subsequently carried out in Kedah, Penang and Kuala Lumpur, resulting in the arrest of six people aged between 20 and 40.
Those arrested comprised one Malaysian man, four foreign men and one foreign woman.
Police said the investigation so far indicates that the syndicate specifically targeted foreigners and used online platforms to establish trust before luring them into Malaysia.
Kumar also warned that people should be cautious about treating strangers they meet solely through social media as trusted acquaintances, particularly when they are offered unusually attractive jobs, trips or relationships.
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