JOHOR BARU: Police believe they have crippled a luxury vehicle theft syndicate that operated throughout the country following the arrest of four men and two women here recently.
The suspects, aged between 17 and 35, were picked-up by police in a series of raids in the city centre here from Nov 12.
Johor police chief Datuk Mokhtar Shariff said police recovered seven luxury cars and a high-powered motorcycle from the suspects based on information.
“The cars were two Volkswagen Passats, a Lexus, a Mini Cooper, a BMW, a Mercedes-Benz, a Toyota Estima and a BMW motorcycle,” he said at the Johor police contingent headquarters today.
Initial investigations revealed that all the suspects have previous criminal records.
Mokhtar said all the suspects are under police custody and will be remanded for further investigations.
“Police are investigating the case under Section 379A of the Penal Code for vehicle theft and also Section 457 of the Penal Code for breaking into a house and theft.
“Investigators believe that the operation against the syndicate members solved a total of 35 housebreaking cases in Johor, Perak and also Kuala Lumpur,” he said.
Meanwhile, police in Kluang busted a foreign robbery gang with a seizure of several knives, parangs and also recovery of four motorcycles, cash and mobile phones.
31 foreign men, including a woman, were arrested.
Police mounted the two-day operation starting Nov 13 at construction “kongsis” and also plantations throughout the district.