Police arrest 14 individuals linked to missing Rela shotguns

ALOR STAR: Police are on the hunt for 12 more suspects in a case where several shotguns belonging to the Rela Northern Region Training Centre in Selama, Perak, had gone missing.
Kedah police chief Datuk Asri Yusoff said police believe these 12 suspects were in possession of the remaining shotguns.
He said police believe they were located mainly in Perak and police were confident of detaining them soon.
"We have identified them. I urge them to surrender with the guns to the nearest police station," he said in a press conference today at the state police headquarters here.
Asri also refuted reports that 44 shotguns had gone missing from the armoury at the centre as reported earlier.
He said a Feb 23 audit by the Bukit Aman Licensing Division found 26 shotguns missing out of an inventory of 300.
"An investigation was initiated after the audit discovered the weapons were missing," he added.
A 55-year-old former Rela officer of the Selama district has since been arrested for allegedly selling the shotguns to Rela members in Perak.
Asri said the suspect was stationed at Pengkalan Hulu and another 13 suspects, aged between 29 to 56, were subsequently detained at Taiping, Gerik, Selama, and Kerian, all in Perak.
He said police recovered 13 shotguns, a homemade rifle and more than 300 live 12 bore bullets during the operation.
He said three of the suspects had previous criminal records for theft and illegal gambling.
"We are investigating those angles," he said when asked if the shotguns were to be used for terror or other criminal activities.
Asri said the 55-year-old will be investigated under the Firearms Act (Increased Penalties) 1971 for trafficking in firearms which carries the death sentence or life imprisonment and a minimum of six strokes of the rotan upon conviction.
The other suspects will be investigated under the same Act for unlawful possession, which carries a maximum 14 years prison sentence and a minimum six strokes of the rotan upon conviction, and for unlawful possession of ammunition or bullets which carries a maximum seven year prison sentence or maximum RM10,000 fine or both upon conviction.
Rela director-general, Zulkifli Abidin, when contacted by theSun, confirmed that one officer from the Selama district was involved.
"I can't divulge information on the rest of the suspects, because police are still investigating. We (Rela) are in the midst of improving our weapon management system, which includes a plan to send our personnel for training, to safeguard and manage all matters pertaining to Rela's firearms," he said.
He added that the department will not compromise when it comes to dealing with the buying and selling of weapons within department.
Zulkifli took over as the new Rela chief on October 2016, replacing Datuk Kamariah Mohd Noah.