KUALA LUMPUR: GISB Holdings Sdn Bhd (GISBH) had been on the police 'watch list' since 2011, and the coordinated raids on 20 welfare homes were the culmination of a six-month probe to gather intelligence, build a case, and formulate an action plan.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said police had been monitoring the company long before the recent allegations of child exploitation and abuse went viral on social media.
He said six months ago, he met with representatives from the Research Centre for Deviant Teachings (Pukas).
"They were the ones who passed us the information that facilitated the revisit of various police reports lodged against GISBH," he told the New Straits Times.
This included one report lodged by a former GISBH member from Negri Sembilan that was later retracted.
Razarudin said police contacted the woman, but did not elaborate.
The woman later lodged a fresh report, and police opened up investigations under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act.
"The section stipulates that it is an offence for anyone responsible for the care of a child to abandon, neglect, or expose said child to danger so as to cause him or her, physical or emotional injury."
The woman also gave the police "credible, actionable leads".
Razarudin said this allowed the police to begin phase one of 'Op Global' with the help of the Special Branch and Bukit Aman's Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
"They were brought in to gather intelligence and build a case.
"Two days before the raids on the welfare homes in Selangor and Negri Sembilan, I attended a meeting with representatives from Special Branch and CID, and was briefed on their findings."
This led to the simultaneous raids on the homes – the second phase of 'Op Global'.
Razarudin said police spent the last six months gathering actionable intelligence, collating the evidence, building a case, and formulating a plan of action to rescue the victims.
He said they could only make arrests after receiving credible leads.
"I want to call on former GISBH members who have lodged police reports in the past and retracted them, to step forward and assist in investigations."
Wednesday's raids saw 402 children, aged one to 17, being rescued from alleged exploitation and abuse.
Razarudin said the victims had endured various forms of exploitation and abuse, including being sodomised.
He also said initial investigations revealed that caretakers had also taught the children to sodomise other children.
GISB Holdings Sdn Bhd has since denied the allegations and any links to the case.