SHAH ALAM, April 9 — Police were able to arrest 63 suspected gangsters including a Datuk and Datuk Seri in raids that were the fruit of a three-month investigation into the notorious 08 and 18 gangs in Selangor.
Aside from the titled individuals, police were also able to expose three from among their own ranks including an assistant superintendent from Bukit Aman as well as a sergeant major and a constable based in the state for alleged involvement in gang activities.
Selangor police chief Commissioner Datuk Mazlan Mansor said they were checking the authenticity of the titles held by the two arrestees.
“We are also investigating the exact roles of these policemen and Datuks involved in the gangs, but believe they were part of their illegal operations,” he said.
The Datuk and Datuk Seri, both aged in their 50s, have allegedly been part of Gang 08 since their teens.
Mazlan said investigators have reason to believe that both men are key players in the crime organisation.
He said the operation was launched in response to a spate of violent crimes in Selangor over recent months.
“Following incidents such as of murders, abductions and kidnappings, robberies, thefts, assaults, the use of firearms, and drug trafficking in the state by organised crime groups, the Criminal Investigations Department together with departments from Bukit Aman launched the Ops Cantas Khas.
“These operations were then labelled Ops Spider for Gang 08, and Ops Api Reload for Gang 18, as we specifically targeted these two crime organisations,” he said.
Mazlan said the 63 arrested were all men aged between 23 and 60. They were picked up from locations in Selangor, Pahang, Perak, Kelantan, Johor, Melaka, and Kuala Lumpur.
All will be detained for 28 days as police have invoked the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma). The suspects will be investigated for being active members of a criminal organisation.
During the raids, police recovered a Ceska handgun, a 6.35mm bullet, several parang, seven vehicles, four high-powered motorcycles, jewellery, cash, and mobile phones.
Bank accounts and a property were also seized and frozen, with the combined value of all the confiscated items amounting to around RM3.1 million.
Mazlan said the arrests also allowed his agency to close about 40 serious crime cases, including a recent shooting in front of a primary school in Serdang.
“We can confirm the shooting in Serdang was motivated by issues pertaining to drug deals, and the conflict was between mutual gang members,” Mazlan revealed.
He said police are still seeking at least 20 more gang members, one of whom is said to be an ex-policeman who left the force around two years ago.
“We have alerted our fellow enforcement agencies to be on high-alert and watch out for these suspects should they try to flee the country,” he said.
