KUALA LUMPUR: The police are hot on the heels of a gang of thieves who steal motorcycles that are slated for repossession.
Sentul police chief Asst Comm Ahmad Sukarno Mohd Zahari said that police launched a special operation to trace down members of the "Alim Gang", leading to two arrests on Jan 17.
The two suspects, aged 24 and 30, were employees of a repossession company.
Sources say that the suspects would obtain lists of motorcycles for repossession before the company officially sent them out.
"They would seize the motorcycles on the excuse that the owners had defaulted on their bank repayments," ACP Sukarno said at a press conference on Tuesday (Jan 30), adding that they would steal motorcycles based on the requests of customers.
He said police seized two motorcycles, nine motorcycle frames and six motorcycle components.
He said the motorcycles were reported missing in the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor areas, with losses estimated to be around RM60,000.
"The group comprised four local men, led by a 24-year-old named Alim," he said.
Two more members are still at large, one of whom police named as 29-year-old Muhammad Syawal Muszrad Hassan.
He is believed to be the buyer of stolen motorcycle parts and also assisted in selling the stolen items.
The identity of the second still at large suspect is still unknown.
He added that a total of 15 stolen motorcycle theft cases have been solved.
In an unrelated matter, the police arrested two men after an armed robbery at a car wash in Jinjang.
The robbery occurred on Jan 7, where a 26-year-old foreigner was attacked and his handphone and cash stolen.
Investigations led to the arrests of two men aged 33 and 39 on Jan 21 and 22.
"The police seized a handphone belonging to the victim as well as the car used during the robbery.
"Both suspects are from the Khoki Kumar gang and checks showed that both had records of multiple crimes.
"With their arrests, we have solved two robbery cases including one reported in Selangor. Two stolen vehicle cases linked to them within the Sentul area have also been solved," he said.
