KUALA LUMPUR, April 9 — Using a former furniture factory as its base, a car theft syndicate neatly disassembled stolen cars and sold the components to foreign buyers. 

The syndicate was busted by police six months after they rented the place, which was as wide as two tennis courts and located next to an iron works factory.

The raid last Friday in Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh is the first time a syndicate that shipped disassembled parts overseas has been busted. 

They targeted Toyota Hilux and Fortuner vehicles. 

Police said they had solved 17 cases with losses amounting to RM2 million with the bust. 

“The noise from the next door factory helped to cover their cut-and-collect activities daily,” federal police crime intelligence (D4) chief assistant director SAC Abd Manaf Abd Razak said at a press conference yesterday. 

The premise was used to disassemble the stolen cars and then pack their components and load them into containers to be shipped to Africa and the Middle East.

He said three suspects, in their 30s, were caught during Ops Lejang Sungai Buloh.

Two of them were Myanmar nationals with no documentation while the third was a Malaysian.

It is learnt that the syndicate used falsified identification and documents to rent the place. 

Abd Manaf said policemen, who were on a stakeout, saw a suspect driving a  Nissan Cefiro into the compound.

They raided the place five minutes later. 

“The suspect tried to escape by climbing up to the ceiling but he fell and broke his hip bone,” he said. 

 ”The trio were later identified as having their own specific role in the syndicate.”

He said the Malaysian was the “transporter” and moved stolen cars to the warehouse while the two Myanmar nationals were tasked with dismantling the vehicles.

Besides the car components, police found three recently stolen Hilux, a forklift, eight cut chassis, 14 road tax certificates and tools including Oxytelene gas tanks.

“The Nissan Cefiro with fake plates driven by the first suspect is not registered with the JPJ and is considered an ‘invisible car’ in the country,” Abd Manaf said.

Police believe the car was deregistered in Singapore.

Police are tracking the other members of the syndicate, believed to be involved in car thefts in the Klang Valley, Penang and Pahang.