TAWAU, MALAYSIA - A syndicate that uses SMS or text messages to trick people into believing that they have won cash prices and parting with their own money has been busted with 15 arrests.

Police are investigating if the group, comprising a Malaysian and 14 Indonesians, are also responsible for the 115 cheating cases involving RM1.9mil ($797,050) reported in the state since 2006 and also in other parts of the country.

The suspects were arrested when a commercial crime investigation team raided a rented house in Taman Mosaic after receiving intelligence reports on the activities of the group.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim said that the Indonesians, including a woman and her two-month-old baby, were found with no documents.

Most of the syndicate members being detained are aged between 20 and 35.

Noor Rashid said that police seized 56 handphones, 17 bank savings account books, seven Indonesian passports, eight Indonesian border passes, a television and DVD players, 33 bank ATM cards, RM7,000 and two million Indonesian rupiah.

He said the modus operandi of the syndicate is to send out SMS to victims informing them that they had won cash prizes from major companies like Petronas, Shell, Breeze and also Akademi Fantasia.

"Once the victim responds to the SMS, the syndicate would inform the victim that they could collect the cash prizes if they deposited a certain amount of money in a certain bank account."

Noor Rashid explained that the syndicate members used bank accounts of rural folk by asking them to part with their ATM card for a cash payment. In some cases they helped rural folk open bank accounts.

"We believe we have crippled a major syndicate involved in cheating people not only in Sabah but other parts of the country," he added.

"We are now trying to establish if there are any remnants of the gang members for us to track down."

All the suspects are being detained for cheating under section 420 of the Penal Code.

Noor Rashid said that Sabah police had recorded 115 cases of SMS cheating involving RM1.9mil since 2006.