Pakistani authorities detained a 32-year-old Malaysian man during a raid on a fraudulent call centre in Islamabad earlier this month, but investigations found he had no links to the scam syndicate under scrutiny [1, 2, 3].
The raid, conducted by Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency, took place at a residential estate in Gulberg Green on the outskirts of Islamabad. Authorities detained 258 foreign nationals suspected of involvement in scam operations, including 170 Vietnamese and 40 Chinese nationals [3].
According to Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa, Bukit Aman CCID director, “He has been released and has returned to Malaysia” after being cleared of any wrongdoing [1, 2, 3]. Pakistani investigations confirmed the Malaysian man was not connected to the illegal call centre syndicate [3].
This man was the only Malaysian among the detainees. Most syndicate members had allegedly entered Pakistan on tourist visas before setting up illegal scam call centres [3].
Malaysian police took swift action by sending a special team to Pakistan to investigate the detention and assist with further inquiries. Tan Sri Mohd Khalid Ismail, Inspector-General of Police, said a special team had been deployed to examine reports related to Malaysians allegedly involved in the scams [1].
The Malaysian man has since returned safely to Malaysia on August 22, ending the investigation into his role in the raid [1, 2, 3]. The Pakistani authorities continue to investigate the remaining detainees and the broader scam operation.
The case underscores ongoing cooperation between Malaysian and Pakistani agencies in addressing cross-border fraud. Authorities have not announced any scheduled follow-up developments concerning the other detainees.
