GOMBAK: The three suspected robbers who were killed in a shootout with the police had been part of a robbery gang connected to cases in six states.
In a press conference on Saturday (Dec 23) at the Gombak police headquarters, Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said that investigations into the three suspects showed that they were linked to cases in Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Kula Lumpur, Pahang and Penang.
A shootout between the police and three Rohingyan suspects occurred in Selayang after a police stop just before midnight on Friday (Dec 22).
Comm Hussein said that patrolling police officers stopped the car after noticing suspicious behaviour.
"The police instructed the vehicle to stop, but the driver initially refused to cooperate. Then, during the inspection, the suspects in the car acted aggressively and fired shots towards the police.
"Further inspections after the shootout had concluded led to the discovery of two pistols and a manchette," he said, adding that it is believed that the suspects were on their way to another robbery at the time.
Police have dubbed the group the "Rantau Fiesta" gang.
The suspects were in their thirties, and two were found carrying United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cards.
"The third man was found to be part of a Rohingyan group that had been involved in home break-ins and robberies since 2011. He has around 12 prior offences on his criminal record, mostly for robbery.
"He has also been arrested and jailed in 2016 and 2017," he said.
Comm Hussein added that further investigations will be conducted to verify if the UNHCR cards belonged to the dead suspects or somebody else.
Checks on the group showed at least 27 cases in Selangor in 2023 alone, with losses of around RM1.3mil.
