KUANTAN: Police have arrested seven Indonesian men and a local woman, believed to be members of the ‘Dan Lombok’ gang, on suspicion of being responsible for 14 armed robberies reported in Pahang, Terengganu and Negeri Sembilan.

Pahang police chief Datuk Seri Yahaya Othman said the suspects, aged between 27 and 48, were arrested during a joint operation by the Pahang and Negeri Sembilan police from Oct 12 to 20 in Felda Keratong, Kuala Pilah and Nilai in Negeri Sembilan.

Six of the male suspects were working as labourers in Felda Keratong, Rompin, near here, while the female suspect is the wife of one of them, he told a press conference at the Pahang Contingent Police Headquarters today.

He said the gang was believed to have been active since last August and its modus operandi was to break into houses in the early hours and threaten victims at knife-point before tying them up and escaping with the loot.

Following the arrest, he said, the police recovered several house-breaking tools, as well as jewellery, cash, and mobile phones, which are believed stolen items, and two cars, a Perodua Bezza and a Myvi.

In another development, Yahaya said the police arrested 11 locals, including three women, for alleged involvement in an online gambling syndicate, during a raid at a house in Kubang Buaya here last Friday.

He said the syndicate, believed to be based in the Philippines and China, was believed to be promoting more than 50 types of gambling and targetted victims from China using Telegram and WeChat applications, who were then provided links to gambling websites.

In the raid, he said, the the police also seized 280 mobile phones of various brands, 14 laptops and 100 Chinese bank cards as well as Wi-Fi and modems. - Bernama