KUALA LUMPUR – Police have crippled a syndicate stealing luxury cars that targeted car sales centres, workshops, valet parking facilities and car wash outlets.
Their modus operandi was to pose as customers or owners of the vehicles to collect the cars at these places, Bernama reported, quoting a statement by Royal Malaysian Police secretary Datuk Noorsiah Mohd Saaduddin.
The syndicate targeted such outlets in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor and Pahang, and stole luxury marques with Mercedes Benz, Toyota, Honda and Volkswagen as their prime choices.
“The modus operandi of members of this syndicate is to pretend to be a buyer or the owner of a vehicle and trick employees at the premises concerned into handing over the keys before fleeing with the car.
“This syndicate is also found to have obtained the services of ‘jockeys’ to send stolen vehicles across the border to Thailand,” Noorsiah said.
Police crippled the syndicate with the arrest of 14 individuals, including the mastermind, in a raid recently, she added.
The suspects were aged between 22 and 43, and included three women,
Five luxury vehicles were also seized in the raid.
The same syndicate had been behind 14 cases of luxury car theft, based on police reports lodged, Noorsiah added.
She advised the public, especially employees at car sales centres, workshops, valet parking and car wash outlets, to be wary of individuals claiming to be owners or representatives of the vehicle owners before handing over the cars to them.
“We recommend that security measures be taken at the premises involved and that procedures for handing over keys and vehicles be tightened,” she said. – The Vibes, February 18, 2023
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