8, including suspects’ wives, held over theft
KEPALA BATAS: Police have nabbed eight people, including three women, in connection with the 11kg gold bar and necklaces heist in a gold processing factory in Jalan Siram last week.
Acting state police chief Datuk Roslee Chik said six people were nabbed in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, and another two in Johor last Friday. They were in their 30s and 40s.
“We found a match for the fingerprint of one of the detained men inside an abandoned car last Monday. The three women were spouses of the detained men.
“Of the seven stolen gold bars, we recovered two in Cheras. Another item is believed to have been sold, as per our interrogation,” he said at the state police contingent central store here yesterday.
On Sept 25, four men pulled off a brazen heist, fleeing with about RM1.9 million worth of gold from the factory.
In the 9.30am incident, two workers were carrying 11kg of gold bars and necklaces to a pickup truck to be transported to another factory in Kuala Lumpur.
A red Perodua Bezza pulled up in front of the vehicle. Three men, armed with an axe and a knife, snatched the gold-laden bag from the workers, while the getaway driver remained inside the car.
As the robbers made their escape, one of the factory security guards fired his gun four times at the car, but missed it.
The shots, however, were enough to panic the driver, who sideswiped the car into a parked vehicle before escaping.
Police later found the getaway car parked at a flat in Ampang Jajar, about 5km from the scene of the robbery.
Roslee said police had not ruled out an inside job.
“Their planning was very detailed. We are looking at that angle as well. At the same time, we have the list of buyers for the gold, so they better turn themselves in with the stolen gold or face the consequences.”
The eight have been remanded until Oct 5 for investigation.
Meanwhile, police handed over RM10.5 million worth of drugs to Syarikat Kualiti Alam Sekitar Sdn Bhd to be disposed of here yesterday.
The drugs destroyed included 50.2kg of marijuana, 20.5kg of syabu and 25.6kg of heroin, besides other items containing prohibited substances, which included 6.8 litres of ethanol and 2.7 litres of methanol. The drugs were confiscated between 2006 and last year.
“The company has facilities to dispose of the drugs, which will not affect the environment. This is more efficient than the traditional burning and burying method,” Roslee said.
“As a safety precaution, police escorted the lorry carrying the drugs to the company’s disposal facility.”
Present was state narcotics chief Superintendent Maidu Abu Bakar.