KUALA LUMPUR: With "Op Cantas" in full swing since its launch on Saturday, police have arrested 110 people in Ampang and Cheras alone.
Ampang police hauled up 1,208 for checks while their Cheras counterparts screened 250 following the launch of the operation aimed at stemming the recent wave of violent crimes.
In Ampang, 92 people aged between 33 and 55 were remanded for investigations into various criminal offences, including possession of weapons and burglaries.
Ampang police chief Assistant Commissioner Amiruddin Jamaluddin said 110 of those screened were examined by the Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department.
"Forty people tested positive for drugs while two others were arrested for possessing drugs," he said in a press conference at the district police headquarters yesterday.
Amiruddin said police also detained four men who were active in house break-ins and vehicle thefts.
"They are believed to be from three gangs known as the Wan, Ah Moon and Izal gangs who posed as policemen when they carried out break-ins."
On Monday, two members of the Wan Gang, aged 33 and 34, were arrested in a house in Ampang. Police seized tools, face masks, compact disc players, cameras, mobile phones, branded watches and wallets belonging to victims.
Amiruddin said police arrested a 37-year- old man, believed to be from the Ah Moon Gang, when he tried to escape a roadblock in Taman Kosas on Tuesday.
Two caps bearing the logo of the Royal Malaysian Police and Agriculture Department, burglary tools, compact disc players, cameras, handbags and a Hyundai car were seized during "Op Cantas".
"We also arrested a 55-year-old man believed to be the mastermind of the Izal Gang and recovered a police vest in a Nissan Grand Livina, which was reported missing in Pandan Indah."
In Cheras, 18 people were remanded in the "Op Cantas" police crackdown.
Cheras police chief Assitant Commissioner Mohan Singh said the 18, aged between 16 and 50, were picked up for possession and distribution of drugs, theft and intimidation.
"We seized five parang, two knives, a knuckle duster and 1.44g of marijuana. We also recovered two cars, three motorcycles and a lorry," he said at the district police headquarters yesterday.
Mohan said police believed they had solved about 20 crime and drug-related cases in Cheras.
In Kuantan, "Op Cantas" produced unexpected results when police discovered nine foreigners working as guest relations officers.
The foreigners from Vietnam and Thailand, who had misused their social visit passes, were arrested at entertainment outlets and massage parlours here on Thursday night.
Kuantan police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Jasmani Yusoff said during the five-hour operation, which ended at 4am yesterday, police focused on popular spots patronised by bad hats who were involved in vice activities.
He said 40 policemen joined the simultaneous raids at four hot spots in Jalan Wong Ah Jang, Jalan Bukit Sekilau, Jalan Haji Ahmad and Jalan Beserah.
"We will refer their cases to the Immigration Department for further action."
Also arrested were four locals who took care of the premises.
In Kota Kinabalu, detectives, complete with assault gear, took to the streets to track down gangsters, arresting four men who were in possession of dubious travel papers and a samurai sword.
The suspects, in their 20s, were in a car heading to the city centre when they were stopped near Taman Jumbo about 1am yesterday. When checked by a team manning a roadblock, they found the weapon in the boot and one of them had an identity card that was not his.
The sheath and handle for the sword had three colours, yellow, green and red, which apparently indicated the stripes of a particular gang.
Penampang police chief Deputy Superintendent Ratan Kumar Singh said police were investigating if they were members of a gang.
Five motorcycles along with their pillion riders were also hauled to the district station after they failed to produce valid licences.
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