Miri cops bust house break-in gang, thanks to tip-off from Pujut RC
MIRI: Police here believe that they have solved at least six house break-in cases here with the arrest of 10 individuals and the seizure of items worth close to RM50,000.
The 10 individuals include three women and two boys aged 12 and 10.
They were arrested during two separate raids. The first was conducted last Saturday around 10am where the police team led by Insp Nasrul Hadi Jahat apprehended three men, three women and two boys at a semidetached house in Pujut 1A at Jalan Nangka 7 here.
The second raid was conducted the next day also on the same house, following a tip- off from the Pujut Residents Committee ( RC), where police arrested another two men.
Based on preliminary investigations, the occupants had been renting the house for more than a month.
Miri deputy police chief Supt Stanley Jonathan Ringgit believed that his men had busted a house break-in gang.
“We believe that these individuals are involved in a series of house break-in cases happening in Pujut since December 2016,” he told reporters at a press conference here yesterday.
In the Saturday operation, police confiscated items from the rented house, such as 25 units of mobile phones, four units of tablet computers, three laptop computers, three portable game consoles, 11 units of mobile power banks, a gold necklace, 19 wristwatches, three units of walkie-talkie, a chrome-plated lighter, a digital dictionary, a wallet, a wireless device, nine units of USB flash drives, 12 digital SD cards, 11 mobile SIM cards, and a pair of spectacles.
The seizure during the Sunday raid included a pair of imported handcuffs, four motorcycle helmets, two motorcycles, two ‘kwangtau’ (traditional weapon consisting of a pole with blades attached at both ends), one baseball bat, a black T-shirt with the word ‘ Police’ emblazoned on its back, a knuckle-ring, a bag containing various tools, a WiFi camera, two wristwatches and one sound amplifier set.
Stanley said these items, except for the motorcycles, were found inside a car parked at the house.
“We believe some of these items are the stolen goods, while some like the motorcycles and tools are used by the gang to break into houses,” said Stanley, adding that all suspects – except the two boys – tested positive for drugs.
The case is being investigated under Section 457 of Penal Code for housebreaking.
Adding on, Stanley lauded members of Pujut RC on their alertness as well as close cooperation with police, which led to the arrests.