NIBONG TEBAL: The arrest of five individuals led to police here solving 28 house break-in cases in Seberang Perai that resulted in over RM100,000 in losses.
Penang police chief Datuk Azizee Ismail said the arrests of the suspects, four men and a woman, aged between 21 and 47, were made on Oct 16 following a report from a security guard at a luxury housing estate in Bukit Tambun.
"The guard found that two men were acting suspiciously at about 3am on Oct 16 after examining CCTV footage, and immediately filed a police report.
"Acting on the report, a police team rushed to the scene and arrested a man. Further investigations resulted in the arrest of four others," he said in a statement on Wednesday (Oct 22).
Three of the suspects have criminal and drug records.
"The group's modus operandi is to target luxury homes with security gates by moving on foot and using small chisels to pry open the main doors. They also wore gloves and face masks to avoid detection.
"The suspects are believed to have been actively involved in several cases of house break-ins around the South Seberang Perai, Central Seberang Perai and North Seberang Perai areas since the middle of this month (October),” Comm Azizee added.
With the arrest of the group, police believe they have successfully solved 28 break-in cases across the three districts.
Comm Azizee said police also confiscated two cars, three motorcycles, five handphones and equipment used to break into the homes, including iron chisels, face masks, gloves, hats and a parang.
