Kuala lumpur: Police have busted the "Geng Lakino Garuda" syndicate with the arrest of nine men suspected of involvement in 21 cases of solar cable and telecommunications component theft, involving losses exceeding RM900,000, following a series of raids in Pahang and Selangor.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Acting Pahang Police Chief Datuk Azry Akmar Ayob stated that the individuals arrested included four Malaysians, four Indonesians, and one Chinese national, aged between 26 and 52. The arrests were made during operations conducted from June 27 to July 17. These raids were executed by the D4 Division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at the Pahang Police Contingent Headquarters (IPK) in Kuantan, Shah Alam, and Sepang, Selangor.
Datuk Azry Akmar Ayob revealed that of the nine suspects arrested, six are believed to have been directly involved in the theft of solar cables and telecommunications components. The remaining three were buyers of the stolen items. He provided these details during a press conference at the Pahang Police Contingent Headquarters.
Investigations have uncovered that the 21 theft cases reported between February and June this year included five cases in Pahang, eight in Perak, five in Negeri Sembilan, and three in Terengganu. Authorities are still on the hunt for two other suspects believed to be at large.
Further investigations revealed that two of the suspects had previous criminal and drug-related records. Urine tests conducted showed that seven of the suspects tested positive for amphetamine (AMP) and methamphetamine (METH).
During the operation, police seized items estimated to be worth about RM500,000, including a bonded lorry, a Toyota Hilux, more than 1,000 electronic chips of various sizes, as well as cables and components belonging to Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB). Additionally, three machetes, three Touch 'n Go cards, and nine mobile phones of various brands were confiscated.
The case is being investigated under Section 379 of the Penal Code for theft and Section 411 of the Penal Code for dishonestly receiving stolen property.