SHAH ALAM: A pair of Colombian men arrested last week have been linked to a string of house break-ins in Johor and Selangor.
Police believe the duo was recruited by a 55-year-old local woman and responsible for the theft of at least RM1.91mil worth of luxury watches, jewellery, crystals and currency.
Bukit Aman CID director Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said a series of raids was conducted in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur on Jan 3 and the two Colombian men, their recruiter, two local men and another local woman were arrested.
"The suspects are aged between 45 and 62.
"Checks also revealed that one of the Colombian men had a record for similar cases and was previously detained under the Prevention of Crime Act (POCA) 1959," he told reporters on Wednesday (Jan 10).
ALSO READ: PJ residents warned of Latino-looking robbers involved in several house break-ins
He said the investigation linked the group to at least 10 house break-ins in Selangor and nine in Johor.
"Following the arrests, we raided five other locations and seized 64 luxury watches, eight pieces of branded luggage, 79 items of jewellery, 29 crystals and precious stones, foreign currency as well as RM1,821 cash," he said.
Comm Mohd Shuhaily said the group was spooked over viral messages warning homeowners to beware of a red car believed to be used by a house break-in syndicate.
He said police tailed the Colombians and arrested them at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang and Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
"They had planned to leave Malaysia and rendezvous in Thailand to plan their next move.
"Their recruiter has been identified as a 55-year-old local woman.
"She is believed to be responsible for bringing them in and acting as a fence to sell the stolen items," he said.
The woman is believed to have disposed of the stolen items by selling them to two of her acquaintances, the local man and woman who were arrested.
The other local man was believed to have driven the suspects around.
Comm Mohd Shuhaily said police also seized three vehicles including the red car believed to have been used in the break-ins.
