KUALA LUMPUR: An alliance of five underground gangs has been dismantled with the arrests of 21 members.
The suspects were detained during an operation on May 3 by the CID's Organised Crime division (D14), assisted by the Anti-Vice, Gambling and Secret Societies division (D7) in Johor, Pahang, and Selangor.
Bukit Aman CID director Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said that the suspects, aged between 28 and 51 years old, were members of five gangs — Gang 08, Gang 18, Gang 21, Gang 24, and Gang 36.
"They formed an alliance known as the TR Gang, and we believe they have been operating since 2019," he disclosed during a press conference at Bukit Aman on Wednesday (May 29).
The alliance was notorious for engaging in various crimes, including drug trafficking, murder, extortion, and arson in Selangor.
"We conducted surveillance and intelligence gathering for about two years before bringing this alliance down.
"It takes time to build cases against the suspects as they came from different gangs. There was a lot of information and leads to follow up on," Comm Mohd Shuhaily explained.
He said that 20 of the suspects would be charged on Wednesday under Section 130V of the Penal Code at the Klang Sessions Court.
"One of them could not be charged as he is receiving treatment at the National Heart Institute (IJN)," he added.
Comm Mohd Shuhaily noted that the CID is still tracking down remnants of the gangs.
"This special operation continues as we are hunting down 10 more gang members. We are determined to bring down those involved in organised crime," he asserted.
When asked about initiations for new gang members, Comm Mohd Shuhaily explained that the process has changed from previous years.
"We believe prospective members are accepted into the gangs by completing specific assigned tasks," he said.
