SHAH ALAM: Police have busted a Latin American gang of house burglars, believed to be responsible for dozens of break-ins around the Klang Valley.
This comes after two raids in houses in Subang Avenue and USJ 19, where Shah Alam police nabbed seven Latin American suspects and recovered a treasure trove of stolen goods worth RM200, 000.
Among them were smartphones, tablets, virtual reality glasses, designer bags, flat screen televisions, laptops, watches, foreign currencies and a collection of limited edition commemorative coins.
OCPD ACP Azisman Alias said police had been tracking the gang for about two weeks and estimated that they have broken into over 15 homes in affluent areas in Shah Alam.
“We performed a raid at a house in Subang Avenue last Friday at 2am, after weeks of intelligence work. Officers arrested three men who were about to enter the hourse and another who was already inside.
“In the house we found valuables believed to have been burgled,” he told reporters at the Shah Alam police headquarters here, Monday.
The suspects then led officers to another home, four kilometres away, in USJ 19 where they arrested two men and a woman – who are also believed to be involved with the gang.
Police recovered a rented Honda City and a Toyota Estima there.
They also found a myriad of hardware and tools, believed to be used to break into homes.
“We also found a huge cable belt. These things are normally used by gangs to cart ATMs away,” he said.
ACP Azisman said four of them claim to be from Panama, while another said he was from Spain and one more from claimed to be Guatemalan. They are between 25 to 43 years of age.
“They are being very difficult, claiming that they do not understand English. We doubt it though.
“How can you come all the way to a foreign country and not know a language like English. We are working on getting a translator to speak with them.
“Even more perplexing was how the suspects got into the country,” he said.
Of the four passports found at the houses, three of them have been shown to have overstayed their travel visa period while another has no chops from the Immigration Department at all.
“It is quite mysterious and we will have to work with Immigration on it.
“Perhaps the suspect obtained the passport through a syndicate or there was something fraudulent involved,” he said.
The suspects remand ends on Monday, after which police plan to detain them for another 14-days under the Immigration Act to assist investigations.
-thestar
