Three arrested for suspected involvement in DHL phone scam

SINGAPORE — Three suspects have been arrested in relation to a DHL parcel scam, police said on Friday (July 15).

The three suspects — a 21-year-old man and two 22-year-old men — were arrested on Thursday following a police report filed earlier that day.

Police say that a 65-year-old woman had filed the report after she transferred S$50,000 to the alleged scammers.

According to the police, the victim had received a call from an unknown person claiming to be working for DHL. The woman was told that her parcel containing illegal goods was detained by Chinese customs agents. The caller then threatened her with legal action and instructed her to transfer money to an unknown local bank account so that the authorities will not pursue the matter.

Officers from the Jurong Division later conducted extensive investigations to identify the suspect who had withdrawn the money from a bank. Within three hours from the time of the report, the officers arrested the 21-year-old suspect at Ang Mo Kio Hub at about 6.30pm. After investigations, the two other suspects were also arrested at Tuas on the same day at about 8.45pm.

The three suspects are expected to be charged in Court on Saturday for the offences of conspiracy to dishonestly receive stolen property. They face a jail term of up to five years, or a fine, or with both. Police investigations are underway to determine if the three suspects were also involved in other similar scams.

Parcel scams involving people posing as Singapore or foreign officials or courier companies have been emerging here, with the police revealing last month that residents here have lost more than S$4 million since March to these scammers, who operate through phone calls. From March to June, more than 50 police reports were made about people impersonating government officials.