Cops close park in hunt for burglars

Massive search: Police personnel closing the entrance to Taman Lembah Kiara to facilitate the hunt for the group of armed men.

KUALA LUMPUR: A group of armed foreigners had to abort their plan of breaking into houses near Taman Lembah Kiara here when they unexpectedly bumped into the police.

Brickfields police chief Asst Comm Muhammad Azlee Abdullah said the six men, believed to be foreigners, were carrying parang and acting suspiciously while walking near the park in Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) at about 4.30am yesterday.

“A patrol team was driving around the area when they saw the robbers who were armed with parang.

“When one of our men tried to approach them, they fled into the park,” he said.

ACP Muhammad Azlee said a search was immediately launched when the headquarters was alerted of the incident.

The recreational park was closed to the public until 3pm to help the police comb the area. It was reopened at about 4pm.

“We have been scanning the area since morning. A K-9 unit was deployed but since we are unable to locate the thieves, we will look at other alternatives.

“We have asked for help from the district and contingent police to trace the men. The hunt is still on,” he said.

ACP Muhammad Azlee added that a series of roadblocks and frequent patrolling of the area would be carried out.

“The area is big, about 400ha. We believe that the suspects are still in the forest.

“If not, they might have used a route we don’t know of,” he said.

Police also believed the gang was involved in a series of house break-ins in Sri Hartamas and TTDI.

“Their modus operandi would be robbing the targeted house in the wee hours,” he said.