KUALA LUMPUR: A Latin American burglary gang responsible for a RM7mil heist in Bukit Damansara has been busted by the police.
Eight individuals, including four Latin Americans, were detained in various operations carried out on June 6, 9, 11 and 14.
The others detained were two local women and two Bangladeshi men.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Comm Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa said the gang had broken into a businessman’s house at about 10pm on May 31 and carted away some RM7mil worth of valuables.
“Among the stolen items were RM20,000 in cash and 30 pieces of luxury watches.
“We detained seven suspects, aged between 20 and 36, through various raids in Kuala Lumpur.
“The last suspect was detained in Bangkok by Thai Immigration on June 14. An arrest warrant has been issued by the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate’s Court for extradition to Malaysia,” he told a press conference at the Brickfields police headquarters here yesterday.
Comm Rusdi added: “The Latin gang was successfully busted through efforts by Brickfields and Kuala Lumpur police officers and personnel.”
He explained that one of the detained women was the girlfriend of a Latin suspect, while another woman had purchased the stolen jewellery.
“We believe the two Bangladeshi men leased their cars to the Latin gang,” he said.
Comm Rusdi said police managed to recover 29 luxury watches worth RM1.5mil, 97 pieces of jewellery worth RM2.5mil and RM4,550 in cash.
“Overall, we managed to recover about RM4mil worth of the stolen items. The most expensive watch is worth RM400,000, while the most expensive piece of jewellery is worth RM200,000,” he said.
Comm Rusdi said the gang would scope out a location before choosing their targets based on the presence of occupants and security measures.
“Footage from a neighbour’s CCTV camera led us to identify the suspects,” he noted, urging the public who can afford it to install high-definition CCTVs as it could help in criminal investigations.
Comm Rusdi also said the suspects had entered Malaysia illegally through Thailand and had been in the country for about two weeks before committing the burglary.
Five of the suspects are expected to be charged at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex today.
Comm Rusdi encouraged anyone with information on criminal activities to contact the Kuala Lumpur police hotline at 03-2115 9999 or the nearest police station.
