Cops cripple motorcycle theft syndicate

SHAH ALAM: The Police have successfully solved 21 motorcycle theft cases in Shah Alam, North and South Klang by busting a theft syndicate.
Four men were arrested and some RM60,000 worth of stolen bikes, spare parts and tools used in the thefts were seized.
The suspects aged between 32 to 47 years old were detained at four separate locations in Shah Alam and Klang.
Shah Alam District Police Chief ACP Shafien Mamat said that the first arrest was made on Aug 17 at 3am, where the suspect was picked up at his house in Section 18 here.
"Several tools were found in the house such as allen keys, wrenches and pliers believed to be used to dismantle stolen motorcycles," he said at a press conference today.
He said police then arrested the other three accomplices after investigations on Aug 18 and 19.
Shafien said that the arrests also led them to discover a machine used by the suspects to erase the engine and chassis serial numbers of the stolen bikes.
"This is the first time we have ever confiscated such a machine. The syndicate usually targets Yamaha RXZ and Honda EX5 motorcycles as these are sought after bikes with high resale values," he told the media at the press conference.
In a separate case, he said police have also arrested three suspects following a house break-in incident reported last month.
Among the three suspects arrested was a 17 year-old boy.
Shafien said that a task force was set up after a report was lodged regarding the break-in.
The breakthrough to the case came when the cops traced a camera, that was reported as one of the missing items in the break-in, that was sold at a shop in Section 13, Petaling Jaya.
This led police to arrest the teenager in Section 13, Petaling Jaya on Aug 9.
"Once we tracked down the camera, we found the teenager easily and also found other stolen items at his house. Futrher investigations led us to two other accomplices aged 32 and 41," he said.
He revealed that with the arrest, some 10 house-breaking cases in Shah Alam and Subang Jaya have been solved.