Kedah police have busted a syndicate involved in stealing cables from Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and Telekom Malaysia (TM), after detaining 15 suspects including a Chinese national recently.
State police chief Fisol Salleh said with the arrest of the suspects, who are all men, police believe eight cases related to cable theft involving three different syndicates from Kubang Pasu, Alor Setar and Baling, have been solved.
“In the first case, police received a report from a TNB contractor on June 6, about the theft of two cable drums that belong to TNB in Kubang Pasu worth about RM80,000.
“Acting on information, police detained eight members of ‘Geng Zali Black’, aged between 30 and 45, at separate locations in Kedah and Perlis.
“The gang targeted cables TNB contractors stacked on road shoulders which are meant for installation. The gang’s modus operandi is to rent lorries and load the cables before selling to their chosen buyers,” he told reporters at the Kedah Police Headquarters today.
Fisol said in the second case, police received a report that cable belonging to TM was stolen near Stadium Peremba, Alor Setar on June 9.
Following the report, four members of ‘Geng Aji Lebai’, aged between 38 and 54, were arrested.
“Police initially detained a 39-year-old who was driving a Naza Citra and found cable and equipment used for cable theft. Further investigations led police to the arrest of three other suspects who were in a Nissan Sentra car.
“When police tried to stop the Nissan Sentra, the driver tried to reverse the car in an attempt to escape and in the process knocked down a police officer who suffered a fractured leg. Police fired a warning shot that hit a suspect who suffered a minor injury,” he added.
In the third case, police detained two vehicles on June 11, and arrested three suspects, aged between 37 and 42, near the Titi Teduri Mosque, Baling and found TM cable worth about RM20,000.
“The modus operandi of the three syndicates was similar. They wear vests and pretend to be workers involved in the cable installation. Urine tests also showed that they were positive for drugs (methamphetamine) while some had previous criminal records,” he said.
Fisol added that the 15 suspects were remanded while police were looking for another six to assist in investigations.
He urged those with information about cable theft to channel their information through MERS 999.
- Bernama
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