Cops to nab and tag hoodlums in bid to clean up Selayang mart

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 — The days of gangsters and street thugs terrorising areas surrounding the wholesale market in Selayang are numbered, as city police vow to crack down on such activity here.

Police will seek out members of local gangs as well as foreigners staking turfs and catalogue them as part of the move to clean up the neighbourhood.

City police chief Commissioner Datuk Mazlan Lazim said most of the disturbances to traders in the area were believed to be caused by foreigners who formed their own groups.

He said these were not hardened gangsters, but could still terrorise and extort traders due to their numbers.

“Some of them could have been influenced by local gangsters, that is why we are planning a crackdown to list all of them.

“This is so the next time they cause any trouble, they will surface on our list we will know the culprits,” he said during a walkabout at the wholesale market with community policing groups today.  

He said the crackdown would apply to all undesirables in the area, both foreign and local, saying his men would trace them to their hideouts.

Mazlan also noted that some of foreigners here could be working without proper documentation, and pleaded with employers not to shield them from authorities.

“Protecting these illegal workers will cause rifts between traders and could even cause an overflow of foreigners in the area,” he said.

Mazlan also said there would be joint operations with other enforcement agencies to detain undocumented migrant workers in the vicinity of the market.

Police efforts to clean up the area were dependent on the local community’s cooperation, he said when urging them to be the eyes and ears for law enforcers.

“I have appointed two liaison officers from the Sentul district to be deployed at the wholesale market to make it easier for residents and traders to relay information to police.

“To me I always believe prevention is always better when handling issues like this. Without the help of the community, it would be an uphill task to identify all the trouble makers,” he said.

Mazlan also disclosed that the crime rate in the area was down 54.2 per cent compared to 2016, and held this up as an example of what could be achieved when the community and police band together.