IPOH: A man on the wanted list was shot dead in a shootout with police early this morning in Jalan Slim Lama, Tanjung Malim.
Perak Police Chief, Datuk Azizi Mat Aris said the incident occurred around 3.10 am when a police patrol conducting surveillance in the area spotted a man driving a Nissan Almera car at high speed.
“When instructed to stop, the suspect sped up and fired several shots at the police vehicle. In self-defence, the police returned fire, hitting the suspect.
“Upon further inspection, the suspect was found covered in blood and was pronounced dead at the scene by medics,“ he told a press conference at the Perak Police Contingent Headquarters here today.
Azizi said that the suspect, a 43-year-old from Klang, Selangor, had 11 prior criminal records and was the mastermind of a gang involved in gold wholesaler robberies.
He added that the gang was involved in at least 25 gold robbery cases in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang, Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Perak since 2018, with an estimated total loss of RM34.2 million.
“The latest robbery committed by the gang occurred in Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur, on Aug 27, involving a loss of 4.5 kilogrammes of gold, valued at RM1.485 million.
“The police are also tracking down the remaining members of the gang to prevent further crimes,“ he said.
Azizi also revealed that the car driven by the suspect was stolen in 2017 and had a fake licence plate.