KUALA LUMPUR: A four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicle theft syndicate was busted following the arrest of two men, in Subang Jaya and Ampang, on Dec 27.
Sentul OCPD Asst Comm Ahmad Sukarno Mohd Zahari said the two suspects, aged 40 and 35, were arrested following a report lodged by a victim who lost a Toyota Hilux in Jalan Selisih, Jinjang, on Oct 4.
He said every vehicle stolen by the suspects was believed to have been smuggled into a neighbouring country.
"The mastermind, Ah Ho, is believed to have received an order from a man in Thailand to steal a vehicle. Then, the vehicle will be left on the side of the road to be picked up by another man (believed to be hired by a man in Thailand) who will then bring it out of the country,” he said in a press conference at the Sentul district police headquarters.
"Thus far, the suspect admitted to being involved in six cases of 4WD vehicle theft (four in Kuala Lumpur and two in Selangor) and receiving RM20,000 for each stolen vehicle,” he said.
He said the police also seized two vehicles (believed to be a stolen car and a rental car), 26 sets of vehicle registration numbers and eight road taxes as well as other equipment believed to be used to steal vehicles.
He added that the suspect's modus operandi was to target 4WD vehicles by placing a tracker on the vehicle.
"The suspects will retrace the vehicles and the location where the vehicles were parked. In the evening, the suspects would turn off the alarm system using special tools and then steal the car.
"The suspect also has the registration numbers of other 4WD vehicles to use on the stolen vehicles to avoid detection by the authorities,” he said.
In another development, police arrested a 36-year-old man who was stealing goods from parked vehicles in Sentul, on Saturday.
He said the police also seized, among others, seven Touch‘n Go cards, a mobile phone and cash.
"The man, who works as a cook, would target vehicles parked on the roadside while travelling to work,” he said, adding that the suspect admitted to being involved in six cases in Sentul and was remanded for four days. - Bernama
