KOTA BARU: Kelantan police busted a foreign burglary syndicate that targeted customers who had just withdrawn money from the bank after detaining five suspects involved in last week’s heist at Kampung Repek, Pasir Mas.
Kelantan Police Chief Datuk Mazlan Lazim said with that success, the police had solved 11 burglary cases involving eight cases in Kelantan, including one in each Johor, Kedah and Penang, since last December, using the same modus operandi of the suspects who hailed from Batam, Indonesia.
Their criminal activities were exposed when they were caught together with an Indonesian woman, aged between 20 to 36, after robbing a cattle dealer who had just withdrawn RM150,000 from a bank in Pasir Mas, at 1 in the afternoon, last Monday (April 25).
“In their modus operandi, the woman would disguise herself as a bank customer while earmarking customers who withdrew large amounts of money, and then inform her accomplices who were waiting outside of the bank before robbing the victims,” he told reporters.
All five of the suspects were apprehended as they were tried to escape with a car and motorcycle after robbing a cattle dealer, before skidding off the road while being pursued by the victim and villagers of Kampung Repek, Pasir Mas.
Mazlan said the suspects were held under remand for two weeks, beginning from April 25 until May 9.
He said this during a press conference after the ceremony to hand over the duty of the Kelantan Crime Investigation Department Chief, from SAC Ahmad Taufek Abdullah to ACP Mohamad Fakri Che Sulaiman.
Ahmad Taufek was promoted as Deputy Commander of the Special Task Force On Organised Crime (STAFOC) at Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur. The Kelantan Deputy Chief Police Officer Datuk Ab Rashid Ab Wahab was also present during the event.
Meanwhile, Mazlan said the police detained five men aged between 19 and 64, and seized a .38 pistol, eight bullets including another four in its cartridge after they were suspected of being involved in a shooting incident at Kampung Padang Demit, Kubang Kerian here of April 21.
“An investigation revealed that the shots were fired due to revenge and all of them were held in custody from April 21 to May 3. All five of the suspects were remanded on the same day as the incident,” he said.
Mazlan also said that border security would be further tightened to fight smuggling activities at the Malaysia-Thailand border at Sungai Golok, as the river had become even more shallow than before. --Bernama