SEPANG: Eleven men were charged in the Sessions Court here with being members of an organised crime syndicate known as the “Vinod Gang”.
No plea was recorded from the accused as their case is under the jurisdiction of the High Court.
Sessions Court judge Husna Dzulkifly fixed Sept 14 for mention of the case.
The 11 were charged under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code for being members of the gang in Bandar Rimbayu, Telok Panglima Garang, between April 2024 and June 27, 2026.
Among those charged was the alleged gang leader, Muhammad Vinod Saktivel, 30.
Also charged were M. Puvaneswaran, 34, Lawrence Alfred, 34, G. Sanggeethan, 31, M. Naviedran, 29, S. Sri Tharan, 27, Surenthar, 27, N.A.N. Viknesvaran, 27, JM Kishaan, 24, R. Shervinkumar, 23, and T. Saarvin, 21.
They were arrested between June 23 and 24 under Ops Rapido, a joint operation led by Bukit Aman’s Criminal Investigation Department with its Selangor counterpart.
Deputy public prosecutors Chow Siang Kong and Muhammad Syahrezal Mohd Shukri appeared for the prosecution, while lawyers T. Mishant and S. Devan represented the accused.
All 11 suspects arrived at the court complex at about 9am under heavy police escort, Bernama reported.
On Thursday, Bukit Aman CID director Datuk M. Kumar said the group is believed to have been active since 2023.
The gang is suspected of involvement in armed robbery, attempted murder, armed rioting, voluntarily causing hurt with weapons and committing mischief.
He said the syndicate’s modus operandi was to carry out armed robbery with machetes and other sharp weapons, targeting residential premises.
The arrests led to the resolution of 21 cases and crippled an active armed robbery syndicate operating in Selangor.
Police are still looking for five other individuals believed to be members of the group.
