Firearms seized from yacht

Major haul: DCP Zamri (fourth from right) showing the firearms seized by police during a press conference at the State Police Contingent Headquarters in Jalan Stadium, Alor Setar.

ALOR SETAR: Police seized five rifles and two pistols from a foreign-owned yacht left idle in Langkawi.

The vessel belongs to a South African who is wanted for a criminal case in his home country.

Kedah police chief Senior Deputy Comm Datuk Zambri Yahya said police were asked by the management officials of a marina to check on the yacht after it was left unattended since August last year.

The vessel was meant to be docked at the marina for only three months.

SDCP Zambri said a marine police team boarded the Crescent at 5.10pm on Thursday.

“We found five rifles, two silencers, three rifle scopes, three magazines and 900 rounds of ammunition. The ship belongs to a man who had a criminal record in his home country,” he told reporters yesterday.

SDCP Zambri said the case was being investigated under the Firearms Act 1960 for storing firearms without a valid permit.

He added checks were also being made to see whether the incident was linked to a case on the island on Sept 18, 2014, where police raided a yacht and arrested a 43-year-old South African and a Thai woman.

Seven rifles and several hundred rounds of ammunition were seized from the ship.

On a separate matter, SDCP Zambri said seven men, including an Indonesian said to be involved in vehicle theft, house breaking, kidnapping and robbery, were nabbed at a budget hotel in Kulim on Saturday.

He added the police seized, among others, two pistols, ammunition and a false car number plate. They also seized two cars reported stolen in Malacca and Negri Sembilan.

The suspects, aged between 26 and 55, included a man wanted by Selangor police for numerous burglary cases.