PENAMPANG: Police have crippled two criminal gangs allegedly involved in 17 motorcycle thefts and burglaries around the district and in Putatan since early this year.
District police chief DSP Rosley Hobden said four suspects each from Gang Saudara and Gang Ayah Rul were nabbed by police in several raids between November 6 and November 8.
¡§Acting on a police report and continuous investigation, police raided an unnumbered house at Kampung Baru Luyang in Penampang and detained four men, aged 19 and 25, around 9.45am on Nov 6.
¡§Investigations revealed they are members of Gang Saudara who were involved in 10 motorcycle theft and burglary cases around the district
¡§Police also seized and recovered 63 stolen items such as motorcycles, crash helmets, jackets, wallets and identification cards all worth about RM30,000, as well as an artificial pistol and a couple of knives ,¡¨ he said at a press conference at the Penampang police headquarters here yesterday.
Rosley said investigations revealed that the gang had been active since early this year and all suspects were former convicts.
¡§Their urine also came back positive for syabu,¡¨ he said, adding that the suspects had been remanded for further investigation.
In the second raid, police detained four members of Gang Ayah Rul, including the 32-year-old mastermind from Tawau, around Putatan area on November 8.
¡§The mastermind was apprehended in front of Survey Putatan at 8pm and the arrest led police to the arrests of the remaining three suspects at a village nearby.
¡§Police investigation also revealed the gang has been active since early this year and was involved in seven motorcycle theft and burglary cases in Putatan, Penampang and Kota Kinabalu,¡¨ he said.
Rosley added that Gang Ayah Rul was also involved in stealing cooking gas cylinders and car batteries which will be sold for profits.
¡§Police have recovered close to RM4,000 worth of stolen items from this group and the suspects, aged 26 and 37, are being remanded for further investigation.
Both cases are currently being investigated under Section 457 of the Penal Code for for house breaking, Section 379 and Section 379 A of the same code for theft and vehicle theft respectively, Section 6 of the Firearms Act 1960 and Section 15 (1) (a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.