Ops Lejang Khas: Teenager among 21 nabbed, 20 stolen vehicles recovered
KUCHING: A month-long operation by police here to combat vehicle theft in the district has resulted in the arrest of 21 local individuals and recovery of 20 types of vehicles.
Kuching police chief ACP Ahsmon Bajah said Ops Lejang Khas from Aug 4 to Sept 4 was joint effort by the district and state police headquarters, involving a total of 17 officers and 167 rank-and-file personnel who operated in 10 teams.
“The suspects, aged from 17 to 50 years, did not operate as a group or syndicate but rather move alone.
“All of them, including the teenager, had past criminal records,” he told a press conference at the district police headquarters yesterday.
Ashmon said the 20 vehicles recovered by police were estimated to be worth a total of RM146,000.
According to him, the suspects targeted motorcycles, pickup trucks and other fourwheel-drive vehicles, as well as Malaysian-made cars.
“They also targeted older vehicles without security alarms, as well as vehicles parked in quiet areas that were without closedcircuit televisions (CCTV),” he added.
Police, he said, are also not ruling out a link between vehicle theft syndicates from outside Sarawak and local gangs, following the recovery of a motorcycle which had been reported stolen in Peninsular Malaysia.
Ahsmon also said through the special operation, police found that the majority of vehicle thefts were committed between Thursdays and Sundays, from 6am to 11am and from midnight to 5am.
In this regard, he called on the public to ensure their vehicles are secured and to work closely with police in the fight against crime.
He added that similar operations will continue to be carried out to detect not only vehicles reported stolen in Kuching, but also those stolen from other districts and brought to Kuching.