Five Indonesians nabbed over spate of robberies in Selangor, Negri

SHAH ALAM: Five Indonesian nationals were detained in connection with a spate of house break-ins in Selangor and Negri Sembilan.

The suspects - four men and a woman - were nabbed in a special operation codenamed Ops Rantau on March 6.

Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said the robbery gang was believed to be responsible for at least seven house break-in cases in Kajang, Sepang and Seremban.

"We detained the suspects, aged between 39 and 49 years old, following a raid at a flat in Sungai Besi.

"They were responsible for seven cases including a house break-in in Kajang on Feb 24. We seized various items including mobile phones, cash of different denominations and jewellery," he told a press conference at the Selangor police headquarters on Tuesday (March 14).

Investigations revealed that the gang would operate late at night and would spend about 30 minutes ransacking each house, he said.

"The suspects were armed with weapons including a machete.

"They would tie up the victims before stealing valuables including jewellery and cash," he said.

Comm Hussein said while the accumulated losses from the house break-ins were around RM55,000, the trauma they inflicted on their victims was immeasurable.

"They threatened the victims at knifepoint before they tied the victims up.

"That alone would cause lasting trauma for the victims," he added.

The female suspect is believed to be responsible for selling the stolen items to pawn shops, he said.

"We believe the gang entered Malaysia in November last year.

"One of them tested positive for methamphetamine," he said, adding that the suspects have been remanded for further investigation.

Comm Hussein said the detention of the suspects would not have been possible without the cooperation of the public.

"We urge the public to relay any information on criminal activities to the police.

"Together we can successfully curb crime," he said.