Police cripple luxury car theft syndicate, recover 45 cars
GEORGE TOWN: Police have crippled a syndicate responsible for stealing and selling luxury cars with the arrest of four men and the recovery of 45 cars worth millions of ringgit in two recent raids in Penang and Pahang.
Three of the men, in their late 20s, were detained at a workshop in Bukit Tengah, Bukit Mertajam, on July 28 while another man, aged 31, was held at a premises in Kuantan last Saturday, said Penang police chief Datuk Abdul Ghafar Rajab.
He said that in the first raid, police seized 42 luxury cars of various brands such as Porsche, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Audi, Mini Cooper and Volkswagen, while in the second raid, they seized three Toyota Vellfire vehicles.
Police investigation revealed that the workshop in Bukit Mertajam was used by the syndicate as a store and base to alter the chasis and registration numbers of the stolen vehicles before they were sold, he told a press conference.
Abdul Ghafar said the investigation also revealed that the syndicate had a nationwide network. The recovered cars were reportedly stolen in several states, including Penang, Perak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Pahang, he added.
“The syndicate is believed to has been active since early this year ... we are still carrying on with the investigation to track down several more members of the syndicate including its leader,” he said.
Earlier, Abdul Ghafar witnessed the handover of duties of Penang Commercial CID chief by ACP Ramli Mohd Noor to ACP Abdul Ghani Ahmad. — Bernama