POLICE have arrested a group of daring robbers believed to be behind at least 19 burglaries and several vehicle thefts in the Sabah west coast.

The group, known as the Kelvin Gang, had stolen close to RM800,000 of electrical, cash and jewelleries over the last six months, Sabah Police Commissioner Ramli Din said today

“We believe they are also involved in selling stolen vehicles to Kalimantan, Indonesia via Lawas. And during our probe with members of the gang, they had admitted to have stolen four vehicles so far,” he said.

He said the group comprising four men and three women aged between 20 and 40, were arrested during an operation, which lasted more than 24 hours on July 4.

The gang was arrested in three separate locations, two houses in Inanam and one at a nearby public park, Ramli said, adding that further investigations found six of the suspects held previous criminal records, except for one of the female accomplices.

“Their modus operandi is the women will be tasked to monitor empty houses, while the men do the break-ins, the women would also stay inside the getaway vehicle to keep watch,” he said.

Ramli said the gang also had an expert locksmith to duplicate keys and was also able to produce fake car number plates when stealing cars.

“The gang would produce a fake car plate to match the target vehicles. This allowed them to escape police or roadblocks,” said Ramli, adding that the women among others, were also tasked to rent cars in their vice.

Six of the suspects had also been tested positive with drugs, and the women are believed companions to three of the men, he added.

All suspects are still under remand and police believe the group could be involved in more cases. – July 10, 2017.