BAGAN SERAI: The police have launched a manhunt for three men believed to be involved in the theft of Telekom Malaysia (TM) cables in the Kerian district.

Perak police chief Datuk Azizi Mat Aris said the hunt for the three suspects, believed to be members of “Geng Mat Razak,‘ followed an incident last Tuesday.

“In the incident, which occurred at about 2.40 am last Tuesday, a team from the Bagan Serai Police Station spotted a suspicious Proton Exora car at Batu 8 here, but it sped away towards Parit Buntar when pursued by the police,” he said.

He said the police managed to catch up with the car when it reached a dead-end road at the Kerian Pump House.

“When the police approached the car, four suspects fled into a nearby undergrowth. The police managed to arrest one of them, a 20-year-old, but the other three suspects escaped.

“The police searched the suspect and found a transparent plastic packet containing a substance suspected to be methamphetamine. The police also searched the car and found several rolls of TM cable and equipment believed to be used to steal cables,” he told a press conference at the Kerian district police headquarters here today.

Azizi said the suspect had previous records for drug-related offences and the case was being investigated under Section 379 of the Penal Code and Section 12 (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.

He also urged the public with information on the suspects to contact the Kerian IPD Operations Room at 05-721 2222 or any nearby police station.

In another development, Azizi said the police are looking for a main suspect in the murder of a Nepali factory worker during a clash between two groups of foreign workers at a workers’ dormitory in Kuala Kurau on August 18.

He said those with information on the suspect or the incident are urged to contact the Head of the Kerian IPD Criminal Investigation Division, ASP Ambri Mat Nayan, at 011-1309 2525, or the investigating officer Inspector Fernandes Bayoi, at 019-867 3515.