'Ayoi Gombak' snatch theft gang busted with arrest of four, including mastermind

KUALA LUMPUR: Four men, including the mastermind of the snatch theft gang dubbed "Gang Ayoi Gombak", have been detained in several raids in Shah Alam, Sentul and Hulu Klang.

The mastermind, who is known as "Angah", also acts as the expert in melting down stolen jewellery to be sold to goldsmiths.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Comm Datuk Saiful Azly Kamaruddin said the suspects were detained in an operation conducted between Feb 28 and March 1.

"We detained the first suspect, a 29-year-old man, at Jalan Sentul on Feb 28, for being involved in several snatch thefts.

"He was subsequently held under the Prevention of Crime Act (Poca) until March 23," he told a press conference at the KL police headquarters on Friday (March 5).

Police then arrested the 35-year-old mastermind Angah in Shah Alam in March, Comm Saiful Azly said.

"We also seized a BMW and a motorcycle from his home.

"Angah and the first suspect were wanted by KL police for being involved with Gang Ayoi Gombak," he added.

The last two arrests were made at a goldsmith in Hulu Klang at about 10pm on March 1, he said.

"We arrested the two men who bought the stolen jewellery that had been melted down by Angah.

"We also seized jewellery, six gold remnants, six watches and a Mercedes Benz," he added.

The latest arrests bring the number of suspects arrested for being part of and in cahoots with Gang Ayoi Gombak to eight men.

"The other four men were detained earlier on Jan 26 and 27.

"We believe we have successfully busted this gang, responsible for about 300 snatch theft cases in the Klang Valley since last year resulting in over RM900,000 in losses," Comm Saiful Azly said.

He added that Angah would gather the stolen jewellery and melt it down at the goldsmith every week.

"We believe he melted down about 500g of gold each month.

"He would then sell it to the goldsmith for RM216 per gram.

"The buyer would pay between RM50,000 and RM70,000 for each transaction," he said.

The goldsmith would then sell the melted-down gold to unsuspecting customers, Comm Saiful Azly said.