KOTA KINABALU: A female ex-convict who was jailed for stealing motorcycles has been arrested for allegedly being the mastermind of a motorcycle theft gang.
She was among 11 individuals nabbed to aid investigations of the case while police searched for another suspect, said Kota Kinabalu OPCD Asst Comm Kasim Muda.
They believe seven cases of motorcycle thefts around the city and 11 others from districts like Kinabatangan, Ranau, Beaufort and Penampang have been solved with this arrest, he said.
He said police believe the suspect had gathered a group of thieves called ‘Gang Bibi’ to steal motorcycles around the city, and that this activity has been going on for some time.
“Following her arrest at 10.30pm on Dec 4, two men were subsequently nabbed,” ACP Kasim said, adding that 10 motorcycles were recovered from them.
He said this led to the capture of other suspects, one of whom was an undocumented Filipino.
He said the suspects were believed to have played the roles of thieves, middlemen, buyers and mechanics who break apart the bikes and falsify registration numbers.
“We found that the woman was the mastermind of this gang, and she had been active in this same activity and was jailed for it previously. She was released and continued her operation,” ACP Kasim said.
“We are now hunting for one more suspect while those arrested are under remand,” he stated.
He said further probes found that eight of the 11 suspects had previous convictions such as house break-ins and drug abuse around Kota Kinabalu.
They hope to capture the one accomplice still on the run, said ACP Kasim.
