SHAH ALAM, August 15 — The notorious gangsters with the cheesy name of “Emi Keju” believed to be behind the looting of RM4 million worth of goods through armed robberies in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Perak and Negri Sembilan over the last five years have been busted.
Federal Criminal Investigation Department (CID) director Commissioner Datuk Huzir Mohamed told reporters today the organised crime gang’s strikes are finally over with the arrest of 17 suspected members and its 32-year-old leader nicknamed “Emi Keju”.
Huzir said the arrests were made against the group under Section 130V of the Penal Code and Section 130W of the Penal Code — for being a member of an organised criminal group and assisting an organised criminal group respectively.
“Due to the ineffective measures used against these individuals in the past which allowed them bail, we have invoked the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 to be used in our investigations,” he said.
He said the police would continue to round up those involved in organised crime and threaten public security.
“We believe that with strict enforcement in neutralising the threats of organised crime, the public would feel confident of their safety in public,” he added.
According to the police, the “Emi Keju” gang surfaced in 2013 and initially targeted individuals for robbery before switching to attacking gold and jewellery shops as well as armoured vans.
It is estimated that around 50 armed robberies, some of them captured on CCTV, were committed throughout the groups existence, with losses suffered up to RM4 million.
Huzir said Bukit Aman’s CID Organised Crime Investigation (D14) had been working with state operatives in smoking out the gang since 2017.
He added that despite earlier arrests, prosecution and imprisonment of several gang members and even its leader, “Emi Keju” continued their strikes.
“We found some of them in Taiping and Kajang Prisons who continued to be actively involved with the gang even though they were behind bars.
“Some of them were also charged in court but failed to show up for trial after bail was allowed. Thus the group continued to thrive and repeatedly commit the same offence,” he said.
On June 24, Huzir had announced the capture of the gang’s 32-year-old leader at an entertainment centre in Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur.
Checks reveal that the suspect has several prior criminal records and is on the police wanted list.
To date, authorities have detained 17 suspects aged between 20 and 38 believed to be linked to the gang in joint operations aimed at eliminating the gang’s organised crime activities.
