Johor police arrested 35 Chinese nationals for luring victims in Spain with fake high-paying job offers
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenThe StarPublished: 10:41am, 22 May 2026A scam syndicate has been renting a bungalow in an upmarket area in Malaysia’s Johor state and using AI to carry out job scams all the way in Spain.Police uncovered their activities when they arrested a total of 35 Chinese nationals during a raid at the bungalow in Gelang Patah at 11.50pm on May 14.
Iskandar Puteri OCPD Assistant Commissioner M. Kumarasan said the suspects, aged between 21 and 39, used artificial intelligence technology and ready-made language templates to communicate with victims.
“The suspects allegedly translated their voices from Chinese to English, while Spanish voices were translated into English to facilitate communication with victims,” he said, adding that initial investigations found the suspects were acting as agents to look for customers and offer non-existent jobs online.
He said that victims were allegedly lured with promises of high-paying jobs through several package options.
Kumarasan said victims who wanted higher salaries were required to buy more expensive packages before they were eventually cheated.
He added that the raid was based on investigations from the district commercial crimes investigations department along with help from the Tanjung Kupang police station.
