JOHOR BARU: Police here busted a group of burglars dubbed "Geng Botak Sern" with the arrests of its leader and 10 other suspects, including three women.
Johor Baru North OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Taib Ahmad said that the gang, which is believed to be behind several burglaries, was arrested on Tuesday (Jan 29) during raids in four locations around Johor Baru and Kulai.
"The arrests were made during 'Ops Limau' operation launched at the Johor Baru north headquarters on Jan 15 to curb criminal activities, especially burglaries and robberies over the Chinese New Year period.
"Early investigations revealed that the suspects were involved in four burglary cases," he said in a statement here on Sunday (Feb 3).
ACP Taib added that all the suspects, comprising eight men and three women aged between 23 and 28, also tested positive for methamphetamine use.
"The police also seized a fake gun in one of the gang member's house in Taman Ungku Aminah in Skudai, which was used by the group to conduct their criminal activities.
"We also found several drugs including Eramin 5 and Syabu as well as a car that was reported stolen in Ayer Keroh, Melaka," he said.
He added that the leader of the gang has nine criminal records while five others also have criminal records.
"The suspects are being investigated under Section 457 and Section 397A of the Penal Code for burglary and motorcycle theft, Section 36(1) of the Arms Act 1960 for the possession of a fake gun as well as Section 12(2) and Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act for possessing and consuming drugs," he said.
ACP Taib also said that the police arrested 61 other suspects for various crime as well as 13 individuals for gambling and vice activities since the launch of Ops Limau.
"I urge members of the public who are planning to leave their house for a long period of time in conjunction with Chinese New Year to notify police at the nearest station or via the Volunteer Smartphone Patrol (VSP) app.
"This will ensure that their homes will be safe as patrol police will keep an eye on it," he said, adding that the owners of some 33 houses within its jurisdiction have notified the police of their absence since Jan 29.
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