SINGAPORE - Three men, believed to be the masterminds behind a GrabHitch payment fraud syndicate, have been arrested by police and are to be charged in court.

Six other men and one woman were also arrested for alleged syndicated payment fraud, said the police in a statement on Tuesday (May 14).

On April 17, Grab reported that it had discovered irregularities in some of their social carpooling drivers' GrabHitch accounts, said the police.

GrabHitch is Grab's carpooling service.

Between February and April, Grab detected at least 13 driver accounts with more than 2,000 fraudulent transactions, amounting to more than $41,800 in losses.

Through follow-up investigations, officers from the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) identified the suspects.

The 10 of them, aged between 19 and 29, were arrested during an islandwide operation by CAD on Monday.

Another three men and a woman, aged between 20 and 28, are also assisting with police investigations.

Mobile phones, debit cards and a thumb drive were seized as case exhibits.

The three alleged masterminds will be charged for abetment by conspiracy to cheat under Section 420 read with Section 109 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224.

If convicted, they can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.