KUALA LUMPUR: Follow-up investigations of a kidnapping led to two separate police shootouts in Johor in which four suspects were killed, Bukit Aman says.
At a press conference here on Friday (Aug 2), CID director Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said the July 11 abduction involving a Chinese national and a local near a toll plaza in Cyberjaya.
"Both victims were released at 6.30pm on July 15 by the roadside along Jalan Pedas-Linggi in Negri Sembilan.
"They were released after the sister of the Chinese national paid the kidnappers a ransom of RM5,457,290 in Bitcoin," he said.
Comm Shuhaily said the investigation led police to Johor, where the shootouts – both in Skudai – occurred just two hours apart on Thursday (Aug 1) and Friday.
"The first (shootout) saw a team from Bukit Aman trailing a car within the Jalan Skudai-Gelang Patah area.
"Realising he was being followed, the driver tried to escape, leading to efforts to stop his vehicle.
"He then shot at the police, who returned fire. Checks found the suspect dead inside his vehicle," he said, adding that a revolver was found in the car.
Subsequently, he said, police went to check a house in Taman Impian Emas but the occupants refused to come out when requested.
"The police entered the residence and identified themselves. Shots (then came) from the rooms inside.
"Our team fired back in self-defence. Checks found that three suspects were killed during the firefight," he said.
Two more revolvers and a machete were found on the premises, Comm Shuhaily said, adding that no policemen were injured in the incidents.
"Thank God... It was a dangerous situation," he said.
The deceased suspects were aged between 35 and 51, three of them with criminal records.
Four more raids in the state then led to the arrest of an additional five suspects, including a woman.
Asked if Bukit Aman would be working with their Chinese counterparts given the nationality of one kidnap victim, he said it was a possibility.
In an unrelated case, Comm Shuhaily said also police busted a group of cable thieves who targeted LRT3 cables, leading to losses estimated at RM2.5mil.
Five suspects aged 32 to 41, including a Pakistani man, were arrested recently in Shah Alam and Ara Damansara, he said.
"One of the suspects is a contractor with access to the construction sites of LRT3 stations.
"This activity had been ongoing for around a year," Comm Shuhaily said, adding that 15 cases of cable theft were linked to the suspects.
