Cops nab two fugitives on the run for two years

KEPALA BATAS: The long arm of the law finally caught up with two fugitives who have been on the run for two years.
The capture of Hamzani Harun, 38, and Hissham Abdul, 40, over the past two days closes a chapter on one of the most daring escape attempts as they were among the seven people who escaped from custody by throwing curry powder at policemen guarding them in 2013.
North Seberang Prai district police chief ACP Abdul Rahman Ibrahim said they were detained in separate locations in Jitra, Kedah.
He said Hamzani was detained about 11.30am on Wednesday at a village in Malau there, while Hissham at another village near Malau about 3am today.
The distance between both places was about 10m apart leading investigators to believe they were staying together all these while, he added.
He said initial investigations revealed they managed to evade capture by never staying in one place for long, moving from one location to another every three to four months and sometimes staying close to the Thai border to avoid detection.
"They were selling ketum leaves to make a living," he told a press conference today, adding the two men have been remanded for seven days to facilitate investigations.
They were among the seven who escaped from a police van while being transported to the Butterworth Court on Jan 7, 2013. One of them blinded the police with curry powder before the seven escaped in the van which was found abandoned in Tasek Gelugor a few hours later.
Police managed to detain two other detainees who did not flee while an operation was launched for the escapees.
On Jan 10, the same year, Mohd Fairus Adam, 31, and Mohd Noor Ahmad Mustafa, 29, were killed in a shootout with police at Kampung Padang Ibu, Penanti.
Mohd Farid Akhtar and Mohd Shahrimy Mohd Noor were arrested a few days after the shootout while Mohd Khairul Nizam Abdul Rani was nabbed in a police ambush on Jan 13.