Bike theft gang crippled with arrest of 6 suspects

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The recovered stolen motorcycles.

The recovered stolen motorcycles.

KUCHING: Police have crippled one of the most active motorcycle theft gangs in Sibu, which is made up of teenagers and an auxiliary policeman, and executed the biggest seizure of stolen motorcycles this year.

State CID chief Datuk Dev Kumar said the gang’s activities began to unravel on Aug 18 following a report received on the theft of a Modenas Kriss motorcycle at Sanyan Road in Sibu.

“The owner of the bike, a 23-year-old shop assistant, discovered his bike stolen in front of a restaurant around 9.30am and lodged a report at Sibu Police Station.

“About three hours after the report was made, the Sibu CID ‘Ops Lejang’ team led by Inspector Baharuddin Sabang arrested an unemployed 17-year-old male at a longhouse in Nanga Salim Road,” said Dev Kumar.

The arrest not only led police to the recovery of the stolen Kriss, but also a Honda motorcycle that was also stolen the same morning at Salim Wharf.

A follow-up operation then led to the arrest of a second suspect, an unemployed 16-year-old male, around 2pm at the same longhouse, while the third suspect, also aged 16, was caught around 8pm the same day at an unnumbered house in Mile 25 Sibu-Bintulu road.

Dev Kumar said the string of arrests continued on Aug 20 when police apprehended the fourth suspect, a 21-year-old auxiliary policeman, at an oil palm plantation in Selangau around 3pm.

“The following day around 5pm, the fifth suspect, a 17-year-old odd job labourer, was arrested at a longhouse in Bawan Assan. Later the same day, the sixth and final suspect, a 17-year-old unemployed male, was picked up in Sibu town,” he said.

Investigation revealed that the members had been involved in a string of motorcycle thefts in Sibu and Bintulu since early this year, and that they had been selling the stolen machines to foreign oil palm plantation workers.

Following the arrests, a police team led by ASP Tuan Abdullah Tuan Hasan conducted a 12-hour operation to recover the stolen bikes from an oil palm plantation at KM21 Sibu-Bintulu road beginning at 2am on Monday.

A total of 15 stolen machines were recovered at various locations in the plantation, of which 13 were stolen in Sibu and two others in Bintulu.

“I congratulate the joint task force comprising Sibu CID and state CID personnel for this major success,” added Dev Kumar.