SHAH ALAM, March 30 — Police have not ruled out the possibility that the five individuals shot dead in an incident in Putra Heights, near here, last night were members of the ‘Ninja Van Gang’ involved in over 50 armed robbery cases in the Klang Valley.

Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said the group, active since 2022 and targeting courier company premises, factories, offices and residences, would also resort to violence, including slashing their victims who attempted to resist them.

He said all the suspects, aged between 25 and 30, were locals with extensive criminal records and had been wanted by the police for the past two years.

"We believe this ruthless robbery gang also has other members involved in providing them with inside information for their robbery activities,” he told a press conference here today.

Hussein said an inspection of the suspects’ vehicle led to the recovery of two revolvers and a semi-automatic pistol, machetes, iron rods, masks and gloves.

In the 11.30pm incident yesterday, a police team spotted a vehicle being driven in a suspicious manner in the Putra Heights area and ordered the driver to stop for inspection.

However, the suspects ignored the instructions, accelerated and fired shots at the police before crashing into the rear of the patrol vehicle, resulting in an exchange of gunfire.

In a separate development, Hussein said the company director claiming ownership of a suitcase containing more than RM500,000 in cash found in the car park of a shopping centre in Damansara recently did not show up to give a statement as promised.

Hussein said that if no one comes forward to claim the money, police will follow existing procedures, which involve disposing of unclaimed assets by returning the money to the government.

"We don’t care if you want to come or not, we have given him sufficient time to come forward with proof that the money belongs to the company. However, he hasn’t shown up as promised,” he said.

He added that police are now investigating to determine if there are any illegal elements.

Yesterday, Hussein was reported to have said that the company director would turn up at the Damansara Police Station today with evidence proving ownership. — Bernama