ALOR GAJAH: They claimed it was their hobby but two men who collected more than RM100,000 in fake weapons and military fatigues are now facing lengthy jail terms for impersonating military officers and being in possession of imitation firearms.
The two men, from the Portuguese Settlement, here, had on Saturday caused a stir when they posed as army officers and drove into the Terendak Camp in Sungai Udang, here, in a Mercedes-Benz filled with fake weapons.
They were arrested, and some 24 hours later, they led police to a luxury condominium unit in Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, where a bigger cache of fake weapons, uniforms and an array of military and police medals and insignia, were found.
Police seized 16 machine guns, 10 pistols, four grenades, 21 sets of uniforms belonging to the army and navy, a smoke bomb, a pair of binoculars, fake ammunition, knives and a ceremonial sword.
State CID chief Assistant Commissioner Raja Shahrom Raja Abdullah said seizure at the condominium was estimated at RM80,000.
The two men, aged 35 and 37, have been remanded for a week to facilitate investigations for impersonating a civil servant and also for possession of and importation of imitation firearms.
Raja Shahrom said that one of the suspects was a graphic artist in Negri Sembilan while the other was employed as a salesman for a company dealing in water dispenser machines in Kuala Lumpur.
They are said to be military enthusiasts who liked to dress up as officers.
"We are investigating how they managed to bring in such a large cache of imitation firearms into the country. More importantly, we want to know the purpose of possessing the firearms.
"Both men claimed it was their hobby to collect military uniforms and weapons used by the armed forces. The imitation firearms are illegal and could cause various problems, especially when used in robberies and other crimes," he said.
Both the men had no previous criminal records.
On Saturday, the two men carrying fake military passes and in uniform, one as a navy captain and the other in army combat attire, were allowed inside the Terendak camp, which housed the 10th Parachute Brigade.
But they got only as far as the firing range, some 600m from the entrance before they were caught.
The guards then found pistols, rifles, machine guns, smoke bombs, military communications gear and other fake military equipment worth RM20,000 in the car boot. Also found in the car were security passes from the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Prime Minister's Department.