BALIK PULAU: Police arrested five people, including a couple, on Saturday (Nov 30) on suspicion of being involved in cable theft around Penang.
Barat Daya District police chief ACP Sazalee Adam said the couple, also suspected to be the masterminds, was nabbed in a hotel in Sungai Petani, Kedah, while the other three were arrested around the same area.
He said efforts to track down the suspects, aged between 25 and 40, were carried out after police received reports from the public at about 4.20 am the same day regarding a cable theft incident behind a petrol station in Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, Gelugor.
“A police patrol car unit (MPV) which arrived at the scene came across two vehicles, with the suspects loading the cables into the vehicles.
“As soon as they saw the police, they fled, leading to a high-speed chase and, after three kilometres, one of the vehicles skidded in the middle of Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah. However, the suspects fled towards Sungai Dua,” he told a media conference here today.
Sazalee said that upon inspecting the car, they found cable cutters, a steel hammer, a screwdriver, a mobile phone, a jacket, 60 segments of cables and car keys.
He said that, acting on information, a police team raided a house in Taman Berangan, Sungai Petani at about 9.30 pm and arrested a suspect.
“Following that, police arrested four more suspects, including the couple,” he said.
He said preliminary investigations found that they have been active for the past year by targeting locations around the state and selling the cables to purchase drug supplies.
All the suspects tested positive for drugs and had prior records for drugs and crimes and they have been remanded under Section 379 of the Penal Code.
Sazalee said police are also hunting for seven individuals suspected to be linked to the group and urged the public to relay information by contacting investigating officer Inspector Muhammad Nazirul Azhar Abdul Mutalib at 011-5414 3254.
