Gang behind spate of vehicle break-ins nabbed within an hour of latest theft

KUANTAN: A gang of thieves that broke into vehicles in Cameron Highlands has been arrested less than an hour after committing its latest crime.

Pahang police chief Comm Datuk Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said the gang had been on a crime spree with seven cases reported in three days.

"Cameron Highlands is generally a peaceful place so this number of cases within a short period is seldom heard of.

"At about 10.50pm on Jan 8, the police received information that a Toyota Vellfire had been broken into at the expo grounds in Tanah Rata and a bag containing RM260,000 was missing.

"At 11.40pm, a team from Cameron Highlands CID successfully tracked down and arrested three men and three women in Brinchang and recovered the stolen cash," he told a press conference at the Cameron Highlands district police headquarters on Monday (Jan 10).

Also found were various tools for breaking into vehicles, jewellery, an additional RM3,843 in cash as well as 34.74g of syabu and 4.2g of marijuana, said Comm Ramli.

"After breaking into the Vellfire, they broke into another vehicle. That's when police on the ground managed to spot the licence plate of their car and traced the suspects to where they were staying," he said.

Comm Ramli said the suspects were believed to have driven to Cameron Highlands from Sungai Petani, Kedah, with their families on Jan 6 to commit crimes while on vacation.

He said two male suspects were still at large and urged them to surrender to police.

"We have collected information and we are in contact with the Kedah police. Turn yourselves in before we hunt you down. You can run but you cannot hide," said Comm Ramli.