RAWANG, Jan 18 (Bernama) -- Police shot dead three men in Persiaran Emerald here today, suspected of involvement in a series of robberies and car thefts.
Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said the incident occurred around noon when police attempted to detain the suspects, who were in a Toyota Vios in the area. However, they opened fire at the police and fled.
“The police pursued the suspects’ vehicle for approximately 750 metres before all three suspects were fatally shot,” he told reporters at the scene.
He added that two of the suspects were Malaysian men aged 40 and 43, while the identity of the third man has yet to be established as no identification documents were found.
According to him, the suspects were responsible for 17 theft cases this year in Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Melaka and Penang, most of which involved four-wheel drive vehicles.
The suspects were also wanted for robberies.
The suspects’ modus operandi involved renting vehicles and replacing the original registration plates with fake ones, Mohd Shuhaily explained.
They would then use these rented vehicles to carry out their criminal activities.
“Today, they were found using a rented vehicle with altered registration plates. We believe they were planning to commit another crime today,” he said.
He said police recovered two pistols, two machetes, a vehicle alarm jammer, five sets of suspected fake registration plates and a packet of drugs believed to be methamphetamine inside the suspects’ vehicle.
-- BERNAMA
