Cops bust 'White Harrier' car theft gang, four suspects nabbed

SERDANG: Police have busted the 'White Harrier' vehicle theft gang with the arrest of four suspects in two separate raids in Seri Kembangan and Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, last Saturday (Dec 25).

Serdang district police chief ACP A. Anbalagan said the four suspects, aged 41 to 59, were arrested after police received information about a vehicle theft incident on Jalan Bandar Kinrara 3/1, Puchong, Selangor, on the same day.

"Investigations found that all the suspects were using their 'job' of selling fruits using cars and vans around the Klang Valley to scour for and steal vehicles parked at Light Rail Transit (LRT) or Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations as well as residential areas.

"This gang has been using a white sports utility vehicle (SUV) belonging to one of the suspects to carry out vehicle thefts.

"They target cars according to requests of trusted buyers, among others, vehicle workshop owners outside the Klang Valley area," he said in a press conference in Serdang district police headquarters here on Friday (Dec 30).

He said further investigations found that each suspect earned RM1,500 to RM2,000 for each stolen car.

Anbalagan said that the suspects are believed to be involved in 15 vehicle theft cases this year in Serdang, Kajang, Brickfields, Cheras, and Subang Jaya and three of them have various past criminal records involving vehicle theft and drug cases.

"The police are now tracking another man, suspected to be the mastermind in the case, who is also believed to be related to one of the arrested suspects," he said.

All suspects have been remanded until on Saturday (Dec 31) to assist investigations under Section 379A of the Penal Code.

Meanwhile, in a separate case, police arrested three local men and a foreign woman in a raid at an apartment in Taman Bukit Serdang, Seri Kembangan near here on Wednesday, after being suspected of possessing 33.56 grams of syabu-type drugs and a pistol.

He said the suspects, aged between 27 and 60, were believed to be peddling drugs around Serdang and one of the suspects bought the gun from a man, believed to be from a neighbouring country, for RM800 in 2019 to protect himself.

All suspects were remanded for seven days until Jan 4, 2023, in accordance with Section 8 of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971 and Section 39A (2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. – Bernama