Five police personnel among 16 arrested for cable theft
SEPANG: Five police personnel, comprising two Sergeants and three Corporals, have been identified as the masterminds behind cable theft activities around Kuala Lumpur and Selangor for the past one year.
Selangor Police Chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan stated that these police officers, serving at District Police Headquarters (IPD) and stations in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, were among 16 suspects, including a woman, aged between 23 and 53, arrested in connection with the syndicate known as 'Sindiket Mulia' (Mulia Syndicate), named after its leader.
'Investigations found that they 'leaked' some police information regarding crime prevention and so on. They (syndicate members) also received information from the involved police officers about areas with fewer patrols and so on,' he said at a press conference today which was also attended by Sepang District Police Chief ACP Norhizam Bahaman.
He added that all the police personnel have been under remand since May 23 to assist in investigations after being arrested on May 22 at several locations in Cheras and Kajang.
According to Hussein, the syndicate's activities were also aided by 'insiders,' namely technicians and security guards from companies appointed by Telekom Malaysia (TM).
He said these 'insiders' would inform the syndicate members which parts of the cable needed to be cut to prevent the alarm siren from sounding.
'This means that in every cable theft incident, it involved insiders themselves who showed them where they could steal easily, how to cut it easily, and even taught them where to cut to avoid the alarm sounding.
'So their modus operandi was that after receiving information from insiders about areas where cables could be easily stolen and police patrol information, they would carry out the cable theft activities,' he said.
He added that the stolen cables would then be taken to a plantation to be burned to extract valuable metal, namely copper, which would then be sold to scrap metal dealers.
Hussein said the syndicate is believed to have been active for the past year, with their masterminds being two men who each have 36 and 29 previous criminal cases, including drug-related offences.
'Initial investigations found that this syndicate had conducted 23 cable sale transactions at scrap metal shops around Semenyih, with estimated sales of approximately RM683,000. We believe this cable theft syndicate has committed more than 23 theft cases,' he said.
He stated that items seized by the police included a Toyota Hilux four-wheel-drive vehicle, a Proton Perdana car, a Mitsubishi Fuso Canter lorry along with 1.2 tons of metal, and metal-cutting equipment.
He said the case is being investigated under Section 379 of the Penal Code (Theft), Section 431A of the Penal Code (Mischief by injury to telegraph cable, wire, etc.), and Section 29(1) of the Minor Offences Act 1955 (Fraudulent possession of property).
Hussein also mentioned that cable theft cases involving TM and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor account for one-third of the total cases nationwide, or 208 cases for the first four months of this year.
According to him, during the same period, a total of 649 cases of TM and TNB cable theft were recorded nationwide.
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