JOHOR BARU: Police have arrested seven suspects in connection with a break-in at a pawnshop involving losses estimated at RM28.4mil in cash and jewellery.
Johor police chief Comm Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad said a report was lodged at around 11.42am last Friday (Nov 6) involving a break-in at the pawnshop located in Kota Tinggi.
“Police arrested seven suspects, aged between 29 and 48 years, including two women in a series of operations in Johor Baru and Kota Tinggi on Nov 7 and Nov 8. Two of the suspects are husband and wife.
“Initial investigations found that the suspects had entered the premises through the front entrance and escaped through the back door,” he said during a press conference held at the state police headquarters here on Tuesday (Nov 10).
Comm Ab Rahaman added police also seized about 2,800 pieces of jewellery and more than RM27,000 in cash that was found in one of the suspect’s house here.
He said investigations revealed that the break-in was allegedly orchestrated by the pawnshop's former manager and was believed to have been planned to destroy evidence linked to criminal breach of trust.
“Investigation revealed that the mastermind behind this operation is the former branch manager and two of the suspects arrested are also the pawnshop’s former employees,” he added.
Comm Ab Rahaman said police were also investigating the authenticity of the jewellery recovered, with preliminary checks indicating that most of the items were not genuine gold.
“The suspects are believed to have pawn imitation jewellery using false identities for the past four to five years,” he said, adding that police were working with the pawnshop company in verifying the authenticity of gold items.
He said the investigation also uncovered a separate report lodged on Oct 6 involving alleged fraudulent pawning activities at the same branch, with several investigation papers opened into criminal breach of trust.
Comm Ab Rahaman added preliminary investigations raised suspicions over the identities used in the transactions, including cases where identification documents could not be verified.
He said the case is being investigated under Section 457 of the Penal Code for housebreaking and all seven suspects are under remand until Nov 15 to assist with investigations.
