Two break-in gangs busted
KOTA KINABALU: Two housebreaking and burglary gangs known as Geng Farah and Geng Joepy, which have been active since February, have been stopped in their tracks by the police.
With the arrest of the suspects, the police solved 10 cases of house-breaking and burglary and recovered RM70,000 worth of stolen goods from them.
Sabah Commissioner of Police Datuk Ramli Din told reporters that eight of the gang members were arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department team on June 28 and June 29.
Among the suspects aged between 19 and 45 was a 36-yearold woman who is the ring leader of Geng Farah, he said.
“One member of Geng Farah is still at large and he has been identified as Masrinhy bin Masazing @ Max. We believe that he is the boyfriend of the woman suspect,” he said, adding that other than the woman, three men aged between 19 and 33 were members of this group.
“We urge Max to surrender to the police and we also hope that anyone with information of his whereabouts would contact investigating officer Sergeant Afizan Kasijan at 0198601230 or the nearest police station,” Ramli said.
Ramli disclosed that the woman and two of her male group members had prior criminal records under Section 380 of the Penal Code and Section 15(1) of the Dangerous Drug Act. Two of the men also tested positive for syabu, he said.
According to Ramli, the arrests were made at Taman Keramat in the state capital and investigations revealed that the four suspects were involved in at least seven house-breaking cases in the state capital from the beginning of this year.
The seven places they broke into were the Dewan Jabatan Cetak Negeri Sabah, houses at Taman Yakim Jaya, Taman Winley and Taman Ujana Seri Fantasi, a workshop in Manggatal, an auto dealership in Likas and a factory at Tuaran Industries. The total losses incurred in these seven cases were estimated at RM57,500.
“The arrest of these four suspects led to the recovery of 31 units of speakers and 14 electric and electronic items. We also seized a Proton BLM belonging to the wife of one of the suspects,” Ramli disclosed, adding the woman suspect’s house was used to store the stolen items.
All the suspects had been remanded for seven days as of June 29 and they were being investigated under Section 457 and Section 380 of the Penal Code. Members of Geng Joepy were detained on June 29 at Kampung Lok Kawi Penampang and Lido Square, Ramli said.
With the arrest of the four men aged between 35 and 45, the police solved three house-breaking and car theft cases in Kota Kinabalu where the losses incurred was about RM92,000.
All four tested positive for syabu, he said, and disclosed that Geng Joepy had been active since March this year.
The arrest of the four men led to the recovery of stolen goods worth RM35,000 and this included 14 computer components, a laptop, a television set, two handphones, 22 keys for several types of vehicles, house-breaking tools and a Proton Saga which belonged to a relative of one of the suspects.
“The suspects, who have been remanded for four days beginning June 30, are being investigated under Section 457 and 379A of the Penal Code,” Ramli said, adding that all four were ex-convicts.
“These are just two of the successes of the Kota Kinabalu district police in curbing crime. There are many small successes and I congratulate city police chief ACP M Chandra and his team for their good work,” he said.
Ramli also pointed out that most of the suspects arrested were drug users and turned to crime to support their habit.
This was why the state police were taking drastic measures to curb drug use and its related activities, he said, adding that the police would not give any room to the drug addicts to carry out their activities.
“We are going all out to stop them and this is why there has been an increase in the number of arrests relating to drug offences,” Ramli stressed.
He also advised the public not to buy stolen goods as it is an offence to do so.