Police busted a gang of robbers when they nabbed eight people involved in the armed robbery of a jewellery shop at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman earlier this month.
The suspects, including a woman, were arrested in a series of raids conducted by the city police Serious Crime Division (D9) and federal police Special Task Force on Organised Crime (STAFOC) between 6.30 pm yesterday and 4.30am today.
City police Criminal Investigation Department chief Senior Assistant Commissioner Zainuddin Ahmad said police also recovered a portion of the gold jewellery robbed by the gang, which had been smelted, and 11 gold bars weighing 100g each.
He said police believed that the gold bars were from another case of armed robbery in Serdang, Selangor, which saw the robbers escaped with RM1.7 million worth of gold on Dec 3.
"With the arrests of these suspects, whom are of the age of between 22 and 30, police believe that we can close at least five cases in Selangor and the city. "This group, led by a man called 'Capang', had been targeting jewellery stores and suppliers. They were also responsible for multiple cases of roadside mugging as well as snatch thefts," he said.
He said the suspects were arrested in raids conducted in Jalan Imbi, Jalan Ampang and Bandar Tasik Permaisuri. Besides the gold, police also seized two superbikes, two Perodua MyVi and a Honda Jazz from the suspects.
Zainuddin said initial investigations revealed that the vehicles were bought using proceeds from the robberies. Police have also identified several other gang members.
Zainuddin said police are tracking their movements and expect to make more arrests soon. The suspects are being remanded for five days to facilitate investigation under Section 4 of the Firearms (Increased Penalty) Act 1960.
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