End of the road for two motorcycle theft gangs

Case solved: ACP Beh (centre) showing reporters several motorcycles that have been stripped of their parts. The police believe they have solved 38 cases of stolen bikes with the latest arrests. — Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: Police crippled two gangs that stole motorcycles for parts in the Klang Valley following several raids between Dec 25 and Jan 5.

Sentul OCPD Asst Comm Beh Eng Lai said 15 members of the Am Senu gang and Amat Katik gang were arrested, including the namesakes of both gangs, aged 26 and 29.

He said the bikes were stripped for parts and some of the frames were thrown into the jungle.

“The parts were usually sold to illegal workshops.

“We believe we have solved 32 stolen motorcycle cases involving the Amat Katik gang and another six cases involving the Am Senu gang, ” he said at a press conference yesterday.

In an unrelated case, ACP Beh said police raided two premises at a condominium in Kepong on Jan 7 suspected to have been used as online gambling call centres.

“Five men and two women, all locals aged between 23 and 40, were arrested.

“We also seized 27 computers and a laptop, ” he added.

ACP Beh said investigations showed that the group was believed to have been active for three months.

“They operated from houses to avoid the authorities, ” he said, adding that the group could reap in profits of around RM10,000 a month.

ACP Beh also said that an accounts clerk lost RM112,000 to phone scammers after she revealed her account details to them.

“She was told that there had been credit card charges under her name but she denied it and was then forwarded to another person who claimed to be an officer from Bank Negara.

“The clerk was convinced by the scammers to reveal her account details and a day later she found RM112,000 had been transferred to several other bank accounts.”

ACP Beh said in another phone scam case, a businessman lost RM5,000 after being duped by someone who he thought was a customer.

“He was contacted on Jan 7 by a person who introduced himself as an acquaintance and a customer.

“The person convinced the businessman that he had changed his number and needed financial help. The businessman realised that he was duped two days later, ” ACP Beh added.

He said that last year, Sentul district police received 193 reports on phone scams with losses estimated at around RM6mil.