IPOH: A 43-year-old wanted criminal was killed following a shootout with police in Jalan Slim Lama, Tanjung Malim.
Perak police chief Datuk Comm Azizi Mat Aris said the incident happened on Monday (Oct 14) at about 3.10am.
He said during surveillance and patrol, policemen had tried to stop a speeding car driven by a suspected leader of a gold robbery gang, which refused to heed instructions to stop.
“When they instructed the suspect to stop his vehicle, he refused to do so, and the suspect then fired shots at the police personnel, forcing them to return fire.
"The suspect was killed at the scene," he told a press conference at the state police contingent headquarters here on Monday (Oct 14).
Comm Azizi said the eight police personnel did not sustain any injuries.
He said the suspect from Klang, is believed to be one of the masterminds of a criminal gang carrying out gold robberies targetting wholesalers.
He said the suspect had 11 prior criminal records for various offences.
“The gang which the suspect is involved with had carried out at least 25 of such robberies in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang, Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Perak since 2018, with losses suffered by the victims amounting to a total of RM34.2mil,” he added.
He said in the latest case the gang targeted a gold supplier in Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur on Aug 27.
He said police are tracking down the other members of the gang.
“The car used by the suspect is reported stolen, and the car registration number plate used was a fake one.
“Inside the car, police recovered among others a pistol with marked “Sig Sauer”, a pistol magazine, six bullets inside the chamber, and five bullets in the magazine, and two machetes with the word “Tramontina made in Brazil”, he added.
