MACHANG: With the arrest of five men, police believe they have crippled two gangs which were active in house break-ins and thefts here.
District police chief Deputy Superintendent Ganti Jimmy said the five suspects were detained in an operation code named `Ops Pintu' carried out in the Machang and Tanah Merah district since Sept 1.
He said the men, aged between 20 and 30, were picked up separately in the two districts.
"All of them were arrested in their respective houses in Paloh Rawa here and Taman Kota Harmoni in Tanah Merah between Sept 1 and 13.
"The groups known as `Geng Ise' and `Juwey' have been active over the past few years. During the operation, police also seized stolen items such as televisions, air-cond units and two vehicles, all valued about RM30,000.
"With the arrest of the five, police believe they had managed to solve 17 house break-in cases in the two districts," he said here today.
He said police were still looking for three more members of the two groups believed have gone into hiding in the state.
Ganti said the five, all positive in drugs, had been remanded to facilitate police investigation.