Ah Kow gang use jungle to strip cars

BUKIT BERUNTUNG: Car theft syndicates which strip vehicles for their parts, usually do the job in workshops or warehouses, but the Ah Kow Gang eluded detection for two months by using the jungle at Rasa in Hulu Selangor.

But Hulu Selangor police put the brakes on the gang's activities following the arrest of four members in a raid at their apartment in Seri Kembangan at 3am last Sunday.

Selangor Crime Investigation Department chief SAC Mohd Adnan Abdullah said the four suspects, including the 41-year-old mastermind nicknamed Ah Kow, led police to a clearing in the jungle, about 15km from their apartment, where three cars — two Proton Saga Aerobacks and a Proton Satria — had been cannibalised.

At the apartment, police seized several car-lock chains, a parang, wire cutter, immobiliser, walkie-talkie, four false car number plates, fake road tax documents, several identity cards and driving licences, Malaysian and Singapore passports, and counterfeit RM50 and RM100 currency notes totalling RM7,000, and a packet of syabu and ganja.

They also recovered four other stolen vehicles — a Proton Waja, Naza Citra, Isuzu lorry and a Yamaha 125Z motorcycle. The vehicles had been reported missing since August last year at Damansara, Serendah in Hulu Selangor, Setapak and Rawang.

Mohd Adnan said the gang would target cars based on the demand for spare parts such as engines, headlights, tail-lights and sport rims.

“They scouted for cars at open parking lots and housing estates in Hulu Selangor and Kuala Lumpur and after stealing them, they would bring the vehicles to the jungle where the parts were stripped," he said at a Press conference at the Bukit Sentosa police station in Bukit Beruntung, Rawang yesterday.

He said the gang could strip a car of all its components within three hours.

“We believe they have been active since August this year and they used the Isuzu one-tonne lorry to deliver the cannibalised parts to car spare parts shops in Hulu Selangor and Bukit Beruntung. There are over 70 car spare parts shops in these areas and we are investigating those involved."

Police believe the several identity cards, driving licences and passports seized belong to the owners of the stolen vehicles.

The four suspects have been remanded until today and are being investigated under Section 379A of the Penal Code for motor vehicle theft.

Two of the suspects tested positive for syabu and both also have previous criminal records for car theft and robbery.