KUALA  LUMPUR, Aug 29 — A ram-and-rob gang terrorising luxury car owners is on the loose in the capital.

City police are hunting eight members of the gang which has struck at least 37 times in Sentul, Cheras and Brickfields since early this year.

City police chief Datuk Mohmad Salleh said investigations were under way to track down the gang which specialises in deliberately knocking into a victim’s car and then driving off with the car when the victim gets down.

Mohmad released the photo-fits of the eight suspects believed to be part of the gang at a press conference at the Sentul police headquarters yesterday.

“The suspects are aged between 21 and 26 years. All eight have records for armed robbery, theft and causing grievous hurt,” he said.

Forty-nine ram-and-rob cases have been reported in the city — 25 in Brickfields, 16 in Cheras and eight in Sentul.

Mohmad said police had established that the gang was involved in 37 of the cases.

“We have enough evidence to link the gang to the 37 cases, while the other 12 cases could also be linked to them or other smaller gangs,” he said.

He said the gang would only target luxury cars.

The gang’s strategy was simple and they worked in a group of two or four and usually struck at night.

Mohmad said the suspects would drive around looking for the right opportunity, and when they managed to find a target, they would ram into the victim’s car at a “safe” location.

“The suspect would drive away the victim’s car when he or she comes down to check on the vehicle’s condition,” he said.

In most cases, the suspect would be armed with a parang to threaten the victim.

In all 37 cases, the victims were unharmed.

Police have asked those with information to contact the police or visit the nearest police station.