GOMBAK: According to Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Hussein Omar Khan, the three suspected robbers who were killed in a shootout with the police were part of a robbery gang involved in cases across six states. The announcement was made during a press conference at the Gombak police headquarters on Saturday (Dec 23).
Comm Hussein stated that the suspects were connected to crimes in Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Kula Lumpur, Pahang, and Penang. The shootout between the police and three Rohingyan suspects took place in Selayang, following a police stop just before midnight on Friday (Dec 22).
According to Comm Hussein, patrolling police officers stopped the car after observing suspicious behavior. “The police instructed the vehicle to stop, but the driver initially refused to cooperate. Then, during the inspection, the suspects in the car acted aggressively and fired shots towards the police.
“Further inspections after the shootout had concluded led to the discovery of two pistols and a manchette,” he said, adding that it is believed that the suspects were on their way to another robbery at the time. Police have referred to the group as the “Rantau Fiesta” gang.
The suspects, all in their thirties, were found to be in possession of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cards. “The third man was found to be part of a Rohingyan group that had been involved in home break-ins and robberies since 2011. He has around 12 prior offences on his criminal record, mostly for robbery. He has also been arrested and jailed in 2016 and 2017,” Comm Hussein said.
He added that further investigations will be conducted to verify if the UNHCR cards belonged to the dead suspects or somebody else. Checks on the group showed at least 27 cases in Selangor in 2023 alone, with losses of around RM1.3mil.
