IPOH: Three Indonesian robbers, high on the wanted list for break-ins and armed robberies in four states, met a bloody end in a shoot-out with the police in Seri Iskandar, 55km from here Sunday night.In the incident at Taman Farmasi at 7.15pm, their accomplice managed to give police the slip.
Seized from their car were a pistol, three machetes, keris (dagger), six handphones, lap-top computer, three international passports and RM1,400.
Initial investigations revealed that the thugs were linked to a spate of armed robberies and house break-ins in Perak, Kedah, Selangor and Johor.
Perak police chief Datuk Zulkefli Abdullah said yesterday, the police were forced to be engaged in a shoot-out with the robbers when they became aggressive.
After spotting four men cruising suspiciously in a car, a police team in two patrol cars ordered the men in the other vehicle to stop for inspection at Taman Farmasi.
“Instead, the driver of the car rammed into the police vehicles before it skidded and crashed to a halt.
“At that juncture, one of the four men dashed out of the car and began firing several shots in the direction of the policemen, while another two accomplices tried to attack them with machetes,” said Zulkefli.
He said the police returned fire, killing the gunman and the machete-wielding robbers on the spot while the other man escaped.
The police chief said the robber were linked to at least 13 armed robberies.
Their last ‘hit’ was in Parit last Thursday, where the robbery victim was injured. The modus operandi of the group was to target quiet housing estates before breaking into homes or robbing its occupants, he added.
Meanwhile, the police have sought three men to facilitate investigations into a RM500,000 robbery at a gaming outlet in Bercham on Dec 28, last year.
They are Tajul Hakma Abdullah, 35, Muhammad Husaini Abdullah, 49, and Mohamad Rasdi Abdullah, 44, all from here.
Those with information on their whereabouts are requested to contact the Perak police contingent headquarters at 05-2451222.
Following the heist which occurred about 2pm, the police arrested two men while three others escaped.
Initial police investigations revealed that the group was linked to 22 robberies and had made off with RM3.2 million last year. — Bernama