Duo nabbed believed linked to multiple snatch thefts

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Stanley holding a helmet seized during the arrest of the suspects.

Items seized from an alleged snatch theft.

MIRI: Miri police arrested two men believed to be involved in multiple snatch thefts targeting women travelling alone in their cars. Miri deputy police chief, Supt Stanley Jonathan Ringgit said the duo in their 20’s and 30’s were rounded up by the CID team in front of a house in Permyjaya on the evening of Tuesday (March 24).

“The arrest was made during ‘Ops Rentap’around 7pm (Tuesday) after an hour’s undercover work,” Stanley said. He revealed that one of the suspects, imprisoned for four months, had been released in February this year for the same offences.

“Not long after his release, the suspect begun his (snatching) activities,” Stanley said. Police believed they have solved eight snatch thefts in the city with the arrest of the duo.

During the arrest, police seized a motorcycle believed used in their heists and several items, including a knife, suspected to be from previous thefts. Both suspects were detained to facilitate investigation.

“The case is being investigated under Section 379 of the Penal Code,” Stanley said.

“The latest heist at Miri Civic Centre car park on Tuesday (March 24) was prior to their arrest around 6.15pm. Two days earlier on Sunday morning, the suspects robbed a woman in front of her house in Piasau,” Stanley revealed during a press conference held at Miri Central Police Station (CPS) on Thursday afternoon.

The incident caught on camera (CCTV) installed at the victim’s house, showed the suspect on motorcycle pulling over to ask for something from the victim sitting in her car. The victim was about to enter her car porch when the automatic house gate opened, but the suspect pulled over beside her car. The video went viral on Youtube and social networks.

In a separate arrest, police apprehended six local men for suspected involvement in a series of motorcycle thefts in the city. The suspects were picked up from different locations.

“The arrests were made from March 14 to 22 acting on tip-offs,” Stanley revealed.

With the arrest, police recovered eight motorcycles believed to be stolen by the suspects and seized several tools. The suspects are aged 19 to 28 years old. The case is being investigated under Section 379A of the Penal Code.