Two premises were raided for allegedly being used by a syndicate to sell Tablet PCs with illegal copies of Microsoft software on the international market.
The raids were led by Zambri Ahmad Siraj, assistant director of Special Task Force Team 1 of the Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Ministry and the police.
Microsoft Malaysia representatives, also present at the raids, said the syndicate had been operating from Australia, Singapore and Malaysia.
The syndicate's three premises in Singapore, comprising business and residences, were also stormed in a concerted operation.
In Australia, legal papers were served on a company suspected of being connected with the syndicate.
The raids here started at 2.30pm at an office in Section 8, Petaling Jaya and a house in Overseas Union Garden in Kuala Lumpur.
As at 5pm, the raid was still in progress, with enforcement personnel sifting through documents and computer systems in the office. No details were yet available about the raid on the house.
In Singapore, the operation turned up suspected counterfeit software products.
The raids are the result of an investigation started by Microsoft Corp in November 2010 when a seller in Singapore was suspected of offering pirated copies of Windows 7 Ultimate and Office 2010 - Microsoft's latest PC operating system and its office productivity suite - on an online auction site.
The investigation, which employed private investigators, led to the Australian company and its representative in Singapore.
Microsoft alleged that its undercover agents were sold counterfeit copies of Windows 7 Ultimate and Office 2010, as well as Tablet PCs loaded with illegal copies of its software.
