Police Cripple 'Botak' Gang

March 14, 2010 18:45 PM

Police Cripple 'Botak' Gang

By: Ramjit

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KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 (Bernama) -- Police believe they have crippled the notorius "Botak" gang which has been active in committing burglaries in Ampang Jaya, Cheras and Kajang, with the arrest of its three members two days ago.

The trio were nabbed in a raid on an apartment in Jalan Pasar Baru, Pudu, at 6.15pm.

During the raid, the three men, aged between 38 and 55, including the gang leader known as "Botak", were in the midst of stacking up loot obtained from their criminal activities.

Ampang Jaya police chief ACP Jalil Hassan told reporters Sunday that the gang had been active in breaking into houses left empty especially between noon and 4pm on weekdays.

Initial investigations found that their modus operandi was to move in two groups and use two vehicles while committing the crimes.

"One group will break into the targeted house, while the other will wait outside and cover the area," he said.



Abdul Jalil said the three suspects also had previous criminal records and were categorised as hardcore criminals.

"Two of them are also wanted for possessing firearms," he explained.

Prior to the arrests, he said the gang was believed to have broken into three houses including one in Ampang.

"They usually break into four houses daily," he said.

The loot found in the house were worth RM200,000, including mobile phones, cameras, watches, DVD players, international passports, bank passbooks, credit cards, Touch N Go smart tags and numerous motorcycle and house keys.

Also seized were tools used in the burglaries like spanners, pliers, chisels, metal cutters and steel files.

Two cars - a Toyota Vios and a Proton Waja which were reported stolen in Pandan Indah and Kajang respectively -, together with three fake registration plates and two sets of walkie-talkie were also seized.

Meanwhile, Abdul Jalil said the apartment unit was rented by a married couple, aged between 30 and 40.

He said police believed that the couple were also gang members and efforts were being done to track them down.

The three suspects have been remanded for three days to facilitate in the investigations under Section 457 of the Penal Code.

-- BERNAMA

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