Police nab 13 in connection with armed robberies involving foreigners

KUALA TERENGGANU: The Terengganu police contingent arrested 13 suspects, aged 14 to 25, from two gangs known as 'Geng Shahrul' and 'Geng Acik', believed to be involved in several armed robbery cases involving Myanmar and Indonesian nationals in Kemaman recently.
State Criminal Investigation Department chief ACP Fazlisyam Abdul Majid said the suspects arrested consisted of 12 men and one woman, with one of them, aged 14, being a school student.
"Those arrested are from two gangs, five of them are members of 'Geng Shahrul' while other eight are from 'Geng Achik', and believed to have connection with a spate of armed robberies involving foreign workers in Kemaman," he said in a press conference at the Terengganu Police Headquarters (IPK) here today.
According to Fazlisyam, the suspects' modus operandi was to visit the 'rumah kongsi' (construction workers' lodging) at night and pretended to be policemen to inspect the foreigners and began robbing the victim using weapons once they gained entry into the house.
Fazlisyam said all those arrested were from the Kemaman district and five of them were positive for drugs.
Thus far, 17 people had fallen victims and incurred losses namely, 19 units of mobile phones and RM10,000 cash from the five cases that had been identified.
Following the arrest, police also seized, among others, 16 cellphones, three machetes, three wooden poles, 14 pieces of foreign currencies, three motorcycles and a black Kia car.
The police also believed the two gangs were led by the 25-year-old suspect who was wanted by the police and had two criminal records involving stolen vehicles.
In another development, the police also called on the public to help locate a man identified as Erwady Sapiet @ Shafai, 35, whose last known address was at Lot 108 Jalan Pantai, Kampung Pengkalan Atap, Kuala Besut, Besut.
"Erwady is sought to assist investigations into extortion and violent crime cases in Besut district and anyone with information can contact ASP Mohd Faizal Mohd Salleh at 012-6747417 @ 096354814," he said. — Bernama