JOHOR BARU: Police have arrested six suspected paedophiles in the state under a mega simultaneous nationwide operation yesterday.
The crackdown targeted suspects with alleged possession of explicit material, including child pornography stored in their electronic devices, in a series of raids last night.
Four men were arrested in Taman Bukit Indah, Taman Skudai Baru and Bukit Senyum around here and in Iskandar Puteri, whereas two more were apprehended in Tangkak and Batu Pahat.
The arrest involved fine-tuned collaborations between the five Johor police district jurisdictions, namely Iskandar Puteri, Johor Baru South and North, Tangkak and Batu Pahat, with the Johor police contingent's Criminal Investigation Department deputy chief spearheading the operation.
The special nationwide operation codenamed Op Pedo Bersepadu PDRM-MCMC was organised by Bukit Aman's Sexual, Women and Child Investigation Division (D11) and the Malaysia Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
The Johor raids were given the codename Ops Mega Pedo, which was carried out in secrecy. The policemen involved arrived at the Johor contingent headquarters at 8pm for a closed-door briefing.
Then a handful of detectives made their way to the targeted premises in unmarked vehicles.
Earlier, several detectives were deployed to the targeted premises where the suspects were believed to have stored, viewed, distributed and purchased explicit materials, including Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM).
The undercover detectives acted as point men, alerting the raiding party when the suspects were physically seen at the premises.
This was to ensure that the suspects could be caught red-handed with the explicit materials.
If police missed the suspects, this could cause them to alert their network and subscribers to delete and destroy all the evidence.
The raids were made possible with the MCMC's help in identifying the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that corresponded with the location of the suspects' electronic devices.
The men arrested in Johor, aged between 20 and 74, were all employed, including a 33-year-old tour operator in Singapore.
To ensure the raid's success, police also collaborated with the Immigration Department to verify the suspect's movement across the Causeway.
The raids adhered to strict police protocols, with the detectives introducing themselves and all the suspects giving their full cooperation with no untoward incidents.
In Taman Bukit Indah, a 36-year-old freelance videographer was arrested, while a 74-year-old tailor and 20-year-old e-hailing driver was arrested in separate raids in Taman Skudai Baru.
The 33-year-old tour operator was picked up from a luxury service apartment in Bukit Senyum in Jalan Storey here.
His desktop, fitted with a curved monitor screen and worth more than RM9,000, was also seized.
Meanwhile, a 23-year-old farmer was arrested in Kampung Parit Warijo, Sri Medan, in Batu Pahat, and a restaurant helper, 39, was detained in Kampung Bekoh, Tangkak.
More than 10,000 explicit videos, pictures and CSAM materials were seized from all suspects. Police also seized seven desktops, a laptop, 11 smartphones, modems, routers, a hard drive and a DVD.
All suspects were remanded between three and four days and they faced a penalty of up to five years' imprisonment, a fine of up to RM10,000, or both upon conviction.