POLICE said they have crippled a luxury car theft gang dubbed “Geng Acu” with the arrest of its 39-year-old gang leader at his house in Tamam Bertam Ria on mainland Penang last Friday.

Seberang Perai Utara district police chief Noorzainy Mohd Noor said police also arrested another man, aged 26, and the gang leader’s girlfriend, 36, at about 12.15pm based on intelligence and surveillance over the past two weeks.

He also said investigations found the gang was involved in 21 luxury vehicle theft cases in Penang, Kuala Lumpur, and Johor, amounting to RM1.5 million, and from the total, 17 cars were sold to the syndicate’s network in Thailand.

“Besides car theft, the gang has also been active in house break-ins since last December after their 39-year-old gang leader was released after serving two years under the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 for two years in Langkawi, Kedah,” he said at a press conference here today.

According to the police, each stolen vehicle would be sent to Thailand through the Bukit Kayu Hitam border by the gang, and they would receive RM10,000 as commission while the buying and selling would be handled by the syndicate in Thailand.

Noorzainy said the suspects used a modified Allen key to break the windscreen before starting the car engine which was usually equipped with a security system and a smart lock by using a special application on the laptop.

“The gang only targets luxury vehicles such as the Toyota vehicle models - the Vellfire, Alphard, Harrier, and Hilux following high demand in neighbouring countries.

“Investigations also found that the suspects used fake documents, including fake immigration stamps to take the cars there (Thailand),” he added.

During the raid, police also seized various stolen items among them television, laptop, speakers and four stolen vehicles all worth RM500,000 and fake Malaysian Immigration entry and exit stamps.

“All the items, including the Honda Civic, Toyota Mark, Proton Saga, and BMW cars believed to be from Singapore were also seized at the gang leader’s house, who has 22 previous criminal and drug related records,” he said.

Police are still hunting for the rest of the gang members, including those in the Thailand network, he said, adding that the three individuals nabbed were remanded until October 24. – Bernama, October 21, 2019.