Police crack down on snatch theft spree with duo’s arrest

KUALA LUMPUR: Police brought down a thieving duo who worked hand in hand to target unsuspecting victims wearing jewellery in 300 snatch theft cases in the city.

The duo were caught on Jan 26 following a report made by a victim that same day.

City police chief Comm Datuk Saiful Azly Kamaruddin, at a press conference on the case yesterday, said the police had already created a task force to combat snatch theft following dozens of reported cases in 2020.

“The suspects were caught in

Gombak. They acted in tandem.

“If one failed to snatch the items from their victim, the other would come from behind to finish the job. They mainly targeted victims with visible jewellery on them.

“They reaped in profits of RM50,000 to RM60,000 per month,” he said.

Two more suspects were being traced, including a man Comm Saiful Azly dubbed “the most wanted man for snatch thefts by CID KL”.

“We believe that he was responsible for melting the stolen jewellery to be resold. No shop would buy their goods, so the jewellery would be sold on the streets,” he said.

He added that the police were currently tracking him down and that his personal details were already known to the authorities.

Both suspects have confessed to their involvement in 300 snatch theft cases. Police believe that the gang had been active since 2018.

“They have been remanded under the Prevention of Crime Act (Poca), until March 7,” he added.

In an unrelated case, the police busted a group of Bitcoin miners who had been stealing electricity to power their machines.

The bust was carried out with a team from Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) under Ops Api.

Four suspects, aged between 31 and 45, were caught in a series of raids on Wednesday.

“At around noon, a joint team raided a house in Bandar Sri Permaisuri, Cheras. Two men were caught and 14 mining machines were seized. From that, five more premises nearby were raided and two more suspects caught.

“In total, we seized 250 mining machines, among other items,” he said, adding that the total seizure was worth around RM800,000.

TNB estimated that the theft of electricity had resulted in around RM3mil in losses.

The operation was thought to have been active for two years.

“They would operate from the highest floor of a shoplot and soundproofed the room to prevent their activities from being found out,” Comm Saiful Azly said.

Regarding updates on Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa’s alleged breach of Covid-19 SOP, he said the investigation paper on the case was sent to Bukit Aman yesterday morning.

In a photograph which has since gone viral, Annuar is seen at the end of a table together with other people, believed to be Kelab Pencinta Alam Kolam Takungan Banjir Sungai Midah members.

On Facebook, Annuar said he only sat at the table for a while on Saturday and left because the SOP was not being followed.