PUTRAJAYA: A vice ring crippled in Kota Kinabalu with the seizure of RM14.95 million in cash and arrest of four people may have links to an international syndicate.
Immigration director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali said the 17 women rescued in the operation dubbed Ops Gegar at a hotel on Nov 24 may have also been forced into the illicit trade.
Mustafar said investigations are still on going into the case on various aspects including human trafficking, smuggling of migrants and money laundering.
"Besides seizing RM14.95 million in cash, we have also seized luxury cars belonging to the suspects. We are also investigating if the syndicate run the same activity at a house and other premises.
"Since one of the suspects is from the Philippines, we do not rule out that this might have something to do with an international syndicate," he said after attending the department's monthly assembly.