Kidnap gang busted
SHAH ALAM: Police have solved a kidnapping case of a t r a nsport c ompany manager with the arrest of 11 suspects, including the alleged mastermind.
Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Mazlan Mansor said the mastermind, a 42-year-old auxiliary policeman attached to an agency in Putrajaya, was arrested after the family of the 35-year-old victim paid a RM500,000 ransom.
“The manager was kidnapped by a group of men in a car in Bandar Baru, Sungai Buloh, after work on Dec 12 last year.
“He was released in Bemban, Malacca on Jan 3, the same day the ransom was paid,” he said at the Selangor police headquarters yesterday.
Mazlan said after the ransom was picked up and the victim was released, police arrested three men, including the mastermind.
Police also seized a fake revolver and live ammunition, RM124,400 in cash and froze two bank accounts with a total of RM14,000.
I n a s eri es of f oll ow up operations in Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Perak and Kuala Lumpur, police arrested an additional 26 suspects, including five women.
However, after investigations, 18 were released on police bail.
“We found that the suspects knew each other and can be described as hardcore criminals as they were involved in six money-changer robbery cases in the Klang Valley,” said Mazlan ( pix).
Further investigations revealed the suspects were also involved in a murder case and another kidnapping last year.
The 11 primary suspects are expected to be charged with kidnapping at the Shah Alam High Court today.
In a separate case, Mazlan said two men were arrested for extorting money using fake bullets to intimidate their victims.
Mazlan said the suspects, aged 33 and 36, delivered the fake bullets to 11 people using courier service.
The suspects, a trader and an advertising firm employee, had obtained a list of individuals with fixed deposit accounts in banks.
They were apparently provided with the information by a man from Kuala Lumpur, who is now being sought by police.
“The suspects bought 20 replica bullets for RM800 online,” Mazlan said, adding that the duo targeted men aged between 50 and 70 but none of the victims had paid them before they were arrested.