Trio masquerading as police arrested for robbery in Batu Gajah

BATU GAJAH: A female was among three robbery suspects, who masqueraded themselves as police to break into homes at Taman Batu Gajah Perdana here.

OCPD Asst Comm Shaharon Anuar Abdul Latif said the trio were arrested between 1am and 4am on Monday, solving three break-in and robbery cases.

They were aged between 34 and 40 and were from several districts in Perak.

ACP Shaharon Anuar said in one of the cases, the suspects were believed to have robbed a 37-year-old labourer and his friend of about RM6,000, mobile phones, LED television, DVD player, a laptop and drove off with the friend's Proton Saga at Taman Saujana here on March 20.

"The labourer was inside his home with a friend when they heard several people calling out to them from the outside.

"The three suspects introduced themselves as the police and promptly tied their hands up and placed them inside a bedroom," he said.

"They then proceeded to ransack the house and carted away the belongings, totalling up to RM20,000," he added.

In another case on March 26, ACP Shaharon Anuar said the trio were believed to be involved in a break-in, robbing a 34-year-old victim at Kampung Papan Lama at about 5.30pm using the same modus operandi.

"The victim was cooking in the kitchen when she heard her dog barking outside.

"She went to check the commotion and was met with the three suspects, who introduced themselves as the police before tying her up with a cable tie and locking her up in a room," ACP Shaharon Anuar said.

"The suspects then ransacked the house and were believed to have taken the victim's handbag containing a mobile phone, MyKad and about RM3,000," he said.

He added that the suspects did not cover their faces. They wearing only jackets and sunglasses.

ACP Shaharon Anuar said the trio were also believed to be involved in a break-in case in Pusing on Jan 8. About RM25,000 were taken from a 21-year-old trader.

He said the suspects were believed to have broken into the trader's home from a window at the back of his home.

ACP Shaharon Anuar said during their arrests, police have seized several handbags, watches and mobile phones.

He said all three would be remanded for seven days seven until April 6 to facilitate investigations under Section 395 and Section 457 of the Penal Code for robbery and break-in respectively.

Taman Batu Gajah Perdana

Traders shaken over crime committed in broad daylight

KUALA LUMPUR: Armed robbers fired a shot at a jewellry store near Jalan Sentul here before making off with the loot in a car.

It is learnt that three masked men entered the jewellery store at around 11.20am yesterday, catching the attention of onlookers.

Sentul OCDP Asst Comm Zakaria Pagan said two of the robbers aimed their guns at the store employees while shouting at them to take the trays out of the display cases.

It is learnt that one of the armed robbers fired a shot to scare the employees.

“The employees removed a few trays of jewellery from the glass cases before the robbers bundled the loot into a gunny sack.

“Some of the loot fell out as they rushed out of the store for the getaway car,” said ACP Zakaria.

“The eight employees of the store were unharmed,” he said.

Onlookers said that an accomplice was waiting in the car during the heist.

Zainab Ibrahim, 55, said the incident had left her shaken.

“I froze when one of the robbers shot at the store. All I could do was look at them as they took off with the loot.

“No one dared get in the way out of concern for their lives,” she said.

The food vendor, whose stall was situated near the jewellery store for the past 30 years, said this was the first time that the premise was robbed.

A 64-year-old laundromat owner, who wishes to be known only as Chong, said the surrounding stores rolled down their shutter doors as soon as they heard the gunshot.

Sources said the stolen loot was estimated to be worth at least RM1mil.

However, ACP Zakaria said that police have yet to determine the exact amount of losses incurred in the robbery.

Three killed in shootout with cops in Sungai Petani

SUNGAI PETANI: Three armed men, said to be part of a robbery gang, were killed in a shootout with police at an oil palm estate in Jalan Kuala Ketil here.

Kedah police chief Senior Deputy Comm Datuk Ahmad Ibrahim said the trio, aged between 25 and 30, were spotted in a silver Proton Perdana by an Ops Cantas Khas team in Bukit Selambau at about 4.30am yesterday.

“When the eight-man team approached them, they sped off .

The team then gave chase in their two cars and were led to the oil palm estate where they were shot at.

“In self-defence, the team killed the three armed men. One of our team members, an inspector, was shot in the abdomen but escaped injury because he wore a bullet-proof vest,” he said at the scene yesterday.

SDCP Ahmad said a loaded .38mm pistol, several parang, burglary tools and some drugs were found in the car.

He added that no identification documents were recovered, leading police to believe that they were foreigners.

“Our investigations showed that the men were involved in a number of armed robberies and burglaries in the district.

“We are also checking with our counterparts in Penang and Perak to see if they had been involved in similar cases there.

“A check showed that the car used by the three men was reported stolen in George Town, Penang, last week. We are also trying to determine if there are other members still at large,” he said.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar congratulated the Kedah Ops Cantas Khas team on Twitter for successfully busting the armed robbery gang.