Kuala lumpur: Police have arrested five foreigners believed to be members of a 'magic gang' on suspicion of being involved in stealing money from foreign tourists with their slick hand tricks in the city center. Dang Wangi district police chief ACP Sulizmie Affendy Sulaiman disclosed that all the suspects, hailing from Middle Eastern countries, were apprehended in two separate operations on July 22 and 24 around Kuala Lumpur.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the first raid led to the arrest of three men and a woman, aged between 20 and 50, around Jalan Sultan Ismail. Police seized various currencies from Europe, South Asia, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia, amounting to more than RM16,000. In the second raid on Jalan Bukit Bintang, a foreign man in his 20s was arrested, with more than RM360 in cash seized.

The group's modus operandi involved pretending to express interest in the victim's currency. When the money was handed over, the suspect would then discreetly take some of the money, returning the rest to the unsuspecting victim. Sulizmie Affendy noted that the suspects from the first raid were remanded for four days under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code from July 23 to 26, extended by 14 days under the Immigration Act 1959/63 from July 27 to August 9. The suspect from the second raid faced a similar remand process, extended from July 29 to August 11.

Investigations revealed that all suspects had been in Malaysia since September 2024, claiming to have entered the country via Bukit Kayu Hitam and subsequently losing their passports. The investigation is being conducted under Section 379 of the Penal Code. Sulizmie Affendy also mentioned that more than 50 police reports had been received regarding such cases since last year, with ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of foreign tourists in Kuala Lumpur.