Police crack Spain-based phone scam ring that swindled HK$10 million from victims in Hong Kong
Spanish and mainland Chinese officers raid 13 call centres in towns around Madrid, Barcelona and Alicante, arrest more than 200 Chinese nationals
A Spain-based phone scam syndicate that allegedly duped people in Hong Kong – including mainland students – out of more than HK$10 million was busted in raids led by Spanish and mainland police.
The amount was part of the 16 million euros (HK$131 million) swindled from Chinese nationals by phone scammers from the mainland and Taiwan posing as government officials.
Spanish police dismantled 13 call centres being operated in houses in towns around Madrid and the eastern cities of Barcelona and Alicante and arrested more than 200 Chinese nationals including some Taiwanese suspects on Tuesday, with the assistance of mainland police.
Hong Kong police also joined the operation earlier this month.
A Hong Kong police spokesman said on Wednesday that those arrested included the persons-in-charge of the call centres, computer operators and suspected scammers who posed in different roles.
Investigators are tracing the masterminds and the flow of the proceeds.
Hong Kong police believed the gang was involved in dozens of cases in which scammers posed as government officials and swindled more than HK$10 million from people in the city.
Hong Kong recorded 732 phone scam cases in the first nine months of the year, a 72.1 per cent drop from the number recorded in the same period last year.
Zhu Jian, a consular official at the Chinese embassy in Madrid, said that China would seek the extradition of those arrested for trial on the mainland.
The suspects include some Taiwan citizens. Spain does not have diplomatic ties with Taiwan. It signed an extradition treaty with the mainland authorities in 2006.
Spanish police said the network was operated out of Taiwan and on five continents, with a strong presence in Greece and Armenia.
