KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 — A gang notorious for criminal extortion and violence that was mainly active in Klang has been crippled by police following the arrest of 12 of its members that included the gang’s leader, and the seizure of several firearms and weapons.
Bukit Aman Criminal Investigations Department director Datuk Huzir Mohamed said forensic investigations showed that of the three pistols that were seized from the gang, one of them was used in a 2017 shooting involving the driver of former Attorney General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail.
Huzir said the shooter was from the gang called AYT 99, with AYT being the acronym of the gang leader’s moniker Ayah Yie Tiger, and said they were paid RM30,000 by a third party to carry out the shooting.
“This driver had a personal issue with the people that hired this group to carry out the crime,” said Huzir when asked on the motive of the shooting.
He said police consider the case as solved despite the shooter still being at large.
Huzir explained that the police are still investigating the source of the firearms, without ruling out the possibility of the gang cooperating with foreign criminal organisations from neighbouring countries to smuggle in the firearms.
Among the weapons seized included a CZ75 9mm pistol, a STAR .45mm pistol, a Taurus 9mm handgun, along with 12 live bullets, a machete, a sickle, brass knuckles and several wooden and metal rods.
“We have not established where all the guns were from, but we know the first gun (CZ75) mentioned was used in the case of the driver of Gani Patail, and I think they got it from the border,” he said.
Huzir said their probe showed AYT 99 were also involved in two more shooting cases, one involving a victim in Sg Buloh and another at a house in Klang that did not involve any victims.
He said other cases of violence around Klang, including the torching of an Armenian national’s car after he accidentally knocked the shoulder of the gang leader, and a similar incident involving a Proton Saga.
He said the gang were also involved in a case of criminal intimidation that involved a police inspector who was threatened by over 20 gang members following a misunderstanding with AYT 99’s leader.
He explained the arrests were made during an operation on Jan 22 with most of the members arrested from locations in Selangor and Kelantan.
A majority of the members originally hailed from the East Coast states of the Peninsula, with most of them having a prior criminal record, Huzir said.
He said those arrested were all men aged between 24 to 49-years-old, including three public servants, adding how the gang has been active since 2012.
He said all the suspects were remanded since their arrests, and are investigated under Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma), with Huzir then stressing the importance of the law.
“Without this law we cannot handle the problems created by these gangs.
“With Sosma we can take action that is considered organised crime and we can take action against them for being a member of an organised crime group,” he said.
Huzir added that police are still on the hunt for at least 20 other remaining gang members.
