KUALA LUMPUR: Four Vietnamese men, believed to be responsible for 44 thefts involving RM4.3mil by drilling steel safes in homes and offices, have been killed in a shootout with police.
The suspects, in their 40s and known for their safe-cracking skills, were killed at a residency in Jalan Imbi here.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Comm Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa said the suspects were shot by a team from the Bukit Aman and Kuala Lumpur Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in an operation codenamed Ops Tebuk.
“The team raided the residency in Jalan Imbi at about 11.30pm on Tuesday.
“However, when they tried to arrest the suspects, the men fired shots at the police, forcing them return fire in self-defence,” he told reporters at the scene early yesterday morning.
Comm Rusdi said the suspects were armed with two machetes and two pistols.
“Investigations also showed that the suspects were responsible for 44 cases in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, involving losses of RM4.3mil.
“They have been cracking safes since 2018 and their last theft occurred two days ago in Sri Hartamas,” he said.
Comm Rusdi said the gang used high-end residencies as a hideout, and committed the robberies at night.
“All of them had valid passports. We will investigate further to discover how long they have been in the country.
“Even if their faces were captured on CCTVs, it was hard to identity them as they were foreigners.
“We are working to track down the remnants of the robbery gang,” he said.
The suspects’ bodies were sent to Hospital Kuala Lumpur for post-mortem, he added.
Among those present at the press conference were Bukit Aman deputy CID director Deputy Comm Datuk Fadil Marsus and Dang Wangi OCPD Asst Comm Sulizmie Affendy Razali.
