Ops Lejang/Pintu taskforce arrests two theft suspects, recover stolen van

KUCHING: Police arrested two men and recovered a stolen van on Saturday night during a crime prevention round, after spotting them behaving in a suspicious manner.

They also recovered two crowbars, four machetes, an axe, a knife, two baseball caps and gloves.

An Ops Lejang/Pintu Task Force team comprising personnel from CID IPK and Padawan, spotted the van parked behind an electrical shop at 7th Mile, Kota Sentosa, Padawan, at around 11pm.

As the two men made a move to leave in the van, the team swooped in.

Upon inspecting the van, they found that it was using false number plates and was reported stolen from Sg Maong on May 11.

The suspects, age 29 and 42, have been arrested several times before for robbery, house breaking, theft and drug offences.

The younger one was previously convicted for house breaking and theft in 2010 and sentenced to three years imprisonment.

“We believe the suspects are members of a group specialising in robbery, house breaking and

theft of vehicles in Kuching, Padawan and Kota Samarahan,” said head of state CID SAC Dev Kumar.

He said the suspects would be questioned on their involvement in other cases.

“We hope to solve several cases with this arrest,” he added while congratulating the team on their alertness and success in apprehending the two suspects.

The Ops Lejang/Pintu Task Force was the brainchild of Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Mazlan Mansor.

It is part of his effort to reduce property crime cases in the state.-BP