KUALA LUMPUR: A notorious gang’s plan to penetrate and take over the turf in the Selayang wholesale market was what sparked the shooting there last week.
Police detained 119 workers, mostly Myanmar nationals, in a sweeping crackdown to ensure violence did not escalate in the city’s largest wholesale market.
Sentul OCPD Asst Comm R. Munusamy said the shooting last Wednesday, during which two Myanmar nationals were injured, erupted from a gang’s frustrations from failing to take control of the market.
“They wanted to come in and take control of the place. They could then start charging the stalls protection money and eventually bring the drug trade to the market,” he said.
However, the gang seemed to have failed, said ACP Munusamy, who explained that the workers in the market were close-knit and did not allow members of the gang to come in to operate businesses there.
During the Jan 13 incident, five men in two cars fired randomly at the crowd before fleeing, hitting two people. They were a 34-year-old man and a two-year-old boy. Both are being treated at the Selayang Hospital.
Two suspects were arrested in Batu Caves following the shooting.
As a precautionary measure, police also picked up 119 people, most of them Myanmar nationals, to prevent further violence.
Roadblocks have been set up at both the Jalan Kuching and Jalan 1/2B exits to the market, and police have been screening vehicles for hidden weapons.
ACP Munusamy added that police launched a massive joint operation with KL City Hall and other enforcement agencies yesterday to crack down on illegal traders operating in the market.
This came after Federal Territory MIC chief Datuk M. Saravanan called on the authorities to weed out illegal traders at the market and allow Indian businesses to operate there peacefully.
“Many Indian traders were not allowed to enter the wholesale market due to tight security. I will talk to DBKL and police to give them access to the market immediately,” Saravanan said during a visit to the market on Wednesday.
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