Cops bust syndicate specialised in stealing lorries

GOMBAK: Police here have crippled a syndicate that profited from selling and modifying stolen lorries.

Bukit Aman CID director Comm Datuk Seri Abd Jalil Hassan said that the operation was launched following information gathered from the public.

“The first arrest was made on Sept 18 after we stopped a lorry in Pulau Lumut, Shah Alam. Following that, an arrest was made here where we located around 12 lorries, a forklift and other machinery which we believe were used to modify stolen lorries.

“Following questioning of both suspects, a third man was arrested in Taman Seri Indah Bestari Jaya,” he said at a press conference near the group's workshop in the Rawang Integrated Industry Park on Tuesday (Sept 21).

Investigations showed that the first and third suspects were responsible for stealing the lorries while the second was the buyer.

Police estimated that the stolen vehicles were worth around RM2mil.

The suspects were believed to had been well versed in modifying the lorries, including changing chassis numbers and repainting them according to their customer’s specifications.

Parts from other stolen lorries would also be used to modify a vehicle.

Police believe that the group would only modify stolen lorries after receiving an “order”. It is also known that the group had been active for six months.

“They were to be sold at rates way below the market rate. Some would go for as low as RM7,000. We are also working with other agencies such as the Road Transport Department and Puspakom to see if there had been anyone within that aided the syndicate," he said

"The police are not pointing fingers, we just want to work together to ensure that cases like these are prevented,” added Comm Abdul Jalil.

All three suspects, aged from 39 to 41 years old, were found to have had prior convictions, with one previously charged under the Prevention of Crime Act (Poca). All have been remanded until Sept 22.

“We will apply to extend the remand once it is over,” Comm Abd Jalil said, adding that the police believe more members of the syndicate were still out there.

He urged caution from buyers to prevent the sale of stolen lorries.

“If the price is too low, please be careful. If the time taken to change ownership is also too long, that is a cause for concern,” he said.