NILAI: Two men, who were active in robbery, extortion and drug trafficking, were killed in a shootout with the police at the car park of a condominium here.
The suspects, aged 29 and 40, were tracked down at the condominium by a team from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Bukit Aman and Negri Sembilan at about 10pm on Thursday in an operation codenamed “Ops Api 3”.
Bukit Aman deputy CID director Deputy Comm Datuk Fadil Marsus said the CID team attempted to apprehend the suspects but they opened fire, forcing the police to act in self-defence.
“Both men died at the scene. One of the suspects had a semi-auto pistol while the other had a revolver,” he said.
The suspects were part of an armed robbery gang active in house break-in as well as robbing factories and courier companies in Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Perak.
“We believe both of them are connected to last month’s armed robbery at a courier company’s collection and operation hub in Klang.
“The 29-year-old suspect had a record for 11 criminal offences while his accomplice, aged 40, had a record for 76 offences.
“Investigation also showed that the older suspect was the gang leader,” said DCP Fadil.
Police vehicles were damaged during the shootout but none of the police personnel were injured.
“We are not ruling out the possibility that both suspects were also members of an underworld group based on their use of firearms and involvement in drug trafficking.
“We believe the condominium is one of their transit or safe houses. We have also identified other similar locations,” he said.
DCP Fadil said they will continue tracking down remnants of the robbery gang to recover the stolen loot.
However, he could not elaborate further to avoid jeopardising the investigation.
Earlier at 4.15am on Thursday, in a separate case, a 35-year-old man, believed to have been part of another robbery gang, was shot dead in Bayan Lepas, Penang.
Police believe they have solved 25 cases of armed robbery, house break-in and theft at self-service launderettes following the death of the suspect.
The suspect is believed to be part of a group responsible for the crime spree, which resulted in losses estimated at RM500,000.
Following the morning shootout, eight other people, including a woman, were picked up at several locations across the state.
