RECENTLY, a claim emerged online that a gang had been busted by the police for robbing people, and it was also said that the gang impersonated police. Is this true?
VERDICT:
TRUE
The gang was made up of eight people from the Philippines and one local man, and all were arrested in Penang earlier this month.
State police chief Comm Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said that the initial investigation found that the gang's tactic was to impersonate police personnel and added that they targeted foreigners.
He added that they would rob their victims after claiming that they were allegedly involved in a crime.
"We initially received a police report from a Bangladeshi man who was robbed by several men who claimed to be policemen near a money changer's premises in Jalan Penang here at 4pm on Nov 13 involving a loss of RM14,800 in cash,” said Comm Mohd Shuhaily.
He then said that the police then launched an operation and added that information was then received about another robbery in the South West district.
Comm Mohd Shuhaily said that the suspects were then arrested in a Beach Street raid on Nov 15 after police personnel followed two cars driven by a group of suspects.
He added that the suspects are aged between 30 and 50 and are believed to have been involved in seven robberies netting RM42,600 in Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Melaka.
Comm Mohd Shuhaily said at a press conference on Wednesday (Nov 23) that the group is believed to have been actively involved in criminal activities since early this year and the Philippines nationals are believed to have entered the country through a social visit pass.
"During the arrest, police personnel seized 13 smartphones of various brands, 33 bank card, clothes, passports RM6,265 in cash and some Philippine currency," he said, adding that police also seized two cars that were rented by the suspects for the past two months.
