PETALING JAYA, March 3 — The right-hand man of a millionaire drug lord and leader of Gang 36, survived after being shot at six times from close range in Kajang yesterday.
The man identified as M. Thanabalan is the younger brother of former MIC Hulu Langat division youth chief M. Kalaiarasu, who also survived after being shot at three times in 2010.
The shooting, the third in three weeks, prompted police to step up operations against gangland activities.
Thanabalan — better known as Kajang Balan — in his late 30s was shot when he stopped at a traffic junction on Jalan Reko at 12.30pm.
A police source said he was driving his car when two men on a motorcycle wearing full face helmets pulled alongside his car.
“The pillion rider opened fire six times at Thanabalan,” he said.
The source said only one bullet hit Thanabalan, in his neck, while the rest grazed him or missed completely.
The attackers made their getaway on a blue Yamaha LC. Thanabalan was rushed to the Kajang Hospital where he was reported to be in stable condition.
Police believe the shooting was over drugs and possibly executed by rival gang members.
“Thanabalan’s name was on the list of gang leaders released by the Home Ministry during Ops Cantas in 2013,” said the source.
He said Thanabalan was reportedly in the upper echelons of Gang 36 and was suspected to be involved in illegal drugs, money laundering and extortion.
“He was the right-hand man for the Gang 36 leader known as Devan, who fled the country when Ops Cantas was launched.
“Devan is currently believed to be in Canada,” the source said.
In August 2010, Thanabalan’s brother Kalaiarasu, then the Hulu Langat MIC Youth chief, was having drinks with a friend at a restaurant on Jalan Raja Harun here, when a man wearing a jacket and a full face helmet walked towards him and opened fire. Kalaiarasu’s name was also on the Home Ministry list.
However, in an interview later, he denied his involvement in gangsterism and said he was a businessman.
Several shooting cases have been reported in the past two weeks.
Last Tuesday, a 43-year-old woman and her 21-year-old son were shot at 10 times in a suspected gangland attack in Bukit Mertajam.
The incident happened at a traffic junction on their way home from court where the son was on trial for drug possession.
On February 16, a 26-year-old Gang 36 member was shot at four times — supposedly by Gang 24 members — in Klang.
The man, a known criminal with a history of violence and drug-related offences, was shot dead at close range, about 700m from his house in an apparent act of revenge.
