KOTA SAMARAHAN: Three men and a woman were arrested for alleged involvement in several car thefts here.
District police chief DSP Sudirman Kram said all the local suspects, aged between 19 and 39, were arrested by the Kota Samarahan District Police Headquarters Criminal Investigation Department (CID) team at about 8.00pm on Tuesday.
“The CID team intercepted and inspected a car at Taman Desa Ilmu here and arrested the quartet suspected to be involved in several car thefts in this district.
“All the suspects have been taken to the police headquarters here for further action,” he said in a statement yesterday.
He said the police also seized the vehicle used by the suspects, including its rims and accessories as well as a screwdriver believed to be used for breaking into stolen vehicles.
Sudirman added further inspection found that two of the suspects had 14 previous criminal records, including drug-related offences.
“As a result of the preliminary investigation, the police are confident of solving several car theft cases in the Kota Samarahan district,” he said.
Sudirman explained that the suspects’ modus operandi was to use a screwdriver to drill holes in the car windows to open the doors before proceeding to start the vehicles using the same tool.
Sudirman said the stolen cars would then be taken to a hidden location to remove their components and accessories for the suspects’ personal use or for sale.
He added further investigations were still underway into several cases investigated under Section 379A of the Penal Code.