MALACCA: Some former detainees who were previously banished to Kelantan under the now-repealed Emergency Ordinance (EO) have gone on to become firearm suppliers for local criminals, says a former gangster.
The 40-year-old from Seremban, who requested anonymity, claimed that it was easy for someone to buy a gun by working with former criminals who have links with illegal firearm suppliers in the Malaysian-Thai border town of Sungai Golok.
He revealed that after the EO was abolished in 2011, the former detainees returned to their hometowns and became “runners” for these Thai agents.
The man, who has decided to turn over a new leaf, said only RM10 was needed to smuggle a China-made handgun into the country via Sungai Golok.
“The Thai firearm agents usually offer dirt cheap prices for guns. A semi-automatic handgun was going for only RM300 five years ago.
“Now, I’ve heard the price has dipped further as more second-hand firearms are flooding Sungai Golok and being sold to foreigners,” he added.
The man said such deals were more rampant now as the former EO detainees had good rapport with the Thai agents.
The Thai agents purchase the firearms from Bangkok where hundreds of weaponry stores can be found. The agents would then display the weapons to Malaysian buyers before the deal is concluded.
“The agents only want cash and once the deal is made, they will transport the guns across the border for RM10,” he said.
He said US-made semi-automatic guns were much more expensive and could fetch RM7,500 each.
“Professional hitmen prefer American guns because of their high quality.
“The most popular firearms sold to Malaysians are used Smith & Wesson guns, .45 calibres and pistols like the Colt or Nighthawk,” he said.
The man said bullets were cheap in Thailand and were usually sold at RM1 a piece.
He added that the gunmen were usually hired by those who had business competitors or even in extra-marital affairs.
“A friend who was also involved in gangsterism said many jilted wives had approached him to contact such gunmen,” he said.
Police also agree that the smuggling of guns into Malaysia is rampant – and it’s not just Sungai Golok.
Instead, they say there are more than 200 points along the border used by syndicates to smuggle in guns.
In an earlier interview, then Federal CID director Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin said the lack of enforcement by the authorities at the border areas had made it easy for smugglers.
“It’s difficult to say which routes or methods they use unless we catch them,” said Bakri, who is now the Deputy Inspector-General of Police.
Bakri said in the past, when guns were hard to obtain, gangs might have only one gun, shared among its members.
But lately, police have found that more and more individuals own guns.
Guns for rent are also gaining popularity.
“We found the same guns used in several cases,” he said, adding that contract killings, committed mostly by foreigners, were also worrying.
The foreigners are smuggled into the country, pull off the hit and quickly leave the country, leaving police with little chance of catching them.
No comments:
Post a Comment