ALOR SETAR: Police busted a criminal gang that was actively involved in organised crime, robberies and extortion, involving losses amounting to RM700,000, after detaining 14 suspects at various locations throughout the state on Jan 13.
Kedah police chief Datuk Wan Hassan Wan Ahmad said the 14 suspects, comprising 11 men and three women, all locals and aged between 17 and 59, were arrested by a team from the Kedah Crime Investigations Department at about 6 pm during a special operation.
“The special operation was initiated three months ago to identify and track down the gang that was actively involved in robberies and extortion throughout Kedah and neighbouring states.
“After carrying out investigations, we managed to detain all the suspects at one go. Credit to the CID team for busting the case that incurred losses amounting to RM700,000,“ he said in a statement here today.
Initial investigations on the suspects revealed that a number of them have previous criminal records involving robberies and drug cases.
Police also seized personal belongings and robbed items including handphones, jewellery, cash, sharp weapons and seven vehicles believed to have been used for their criminal activities, all worth about RM200,000.
“Police also raided a pawn shop and seized jewellery believed to have been stolen from victims. Police will not compromise and action will be taken against anyone who buys stolen goods or jewellery,“ he said.
Wan Hassan said the modus operandi of the gang was to first identify and target premises that are isolated and far from other residences before arriving in the wee hours with weapons like parang to rob such premises. - Bernama
