Penang police bust car clone syndicate

BALIK PULAU: Police busted a car cloning syndicate dubbed 'Geng Jeff Klon' following the arrest of eight men and seizure of five cars worth RM150,000 in several raids in Penang and Kedah.
Southwest district police chief Supt A.A Anbalagan said following a public tip-off and intelligence work, a 43-year-old man who worked as a car towing agent was detained in the Bayan Lepas industrial area, near here on Jan 20, at 6.15 pm.
"Following the arrest of the suspect, who is the syndicate's mastermind, seven other gang members, aged between 33 and 56, were apprehended in Penang and Kedah from Jan 21 until yesterday.
"The interrogation of the suspects also led to the seizure of five vehicles, namely a Toyota Estima, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Sentra and Proton Waja. The chassis and engine number of the vehicles had been scrapped," he said in a press conference here today.
He said an initial investigation found that the original owners of three of the vehicles seized could not be identified and were believed to have been smuggled from a neighbouring country as it was not registered under the Road Transport Department.
Anbalagan said the syndicate was believed to have smuggled the cars from a neighbouring country or used the vehicles, whose owners failed to pay their loans and were blacklisted by banks.
"To avoid being detected by the authorities, the syndicate's modus operandi was to look for similar car models or those available on the road to be cloned with the cars that they had, selling them at cheaper prices.
"For instance, the confiscated Toyota Estima was sold for only RM30,000 and initial investigation revealed that it had been used for criminal activities such as robbery and drug trafficking," he said, adding that four of the suspects had previous records for drugs and crime.
All of the suspects who worked as vehicle towing agents, mechanics and business operators were remanded to facilitate investigations.
Meanwhile, the police are looking for two Penang locals who are believed to be the main masterminds behind the syndicate. The suspects are car towing agents Ahmad Nazrul Hassan, 41, who is also wanted by the police for his involvement in drug trafficking, and Mohd Ridzuan Ahmad Redza, 30. — Bernama