PETALING JAYA, Nov 7 — Ten men were arrested after they were believed to have impersonated policemen and then robbed motorcyclists off their personal items and motorcycles on highways and main roads in Selangor.

State deputy police chief Datuk S. Sasikala Devi said all the suspects, aged between 25 and 39 years, who worked as tow truck drivers, deliverymen and technicians, were detained in Petaling Jaya at 5 am on Oct 20.

"Investigations found that the suspects carried out their criminal activites during the nights and early mornings, and impersonated police personnel using two motorcycles,” she said at a press conference at the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters here today.

"They found that these suspects would stop motorcyclists supposedly to carry on inspections before proceeding to steal their personal belongings and motorcycle.”

As a result of the arrests, she said the police had seized seven motorcycles.

Sasikala Devi said preliminary investigations found that seven out of the 10 men who were arrested had 26 previous criminal records and 10 criminal records involving drug cases, in addition to two of them also testing positive for drugs.

She said that with the arrests, her team believes it has solved 10 robbery cases in Selangor, and all suspects have been handed over to the Sungai Buloh police headquarters for investigations according to Section 395/170 of the Penal Code.

Meanwhile, in a separate case, police successfully dismantled the Bulat Gang by arresting three of its members, aged between 19 and 43 years, who are believed to be involved in motorcycle thefts, during Op Lejang around Jeram, Sungai Buloh from Oct 21 to 25.

"In the operation, the police successfully seized 14 motorcycles and arrested a foreigner who is believed to have bought a stolen Honda EX5 motorcycle for RM150 from a suspect,” she said.

Sasikala Devi also said initial investigations found that the Bulat Gang usually monitors their targets a day before committing the act, especially motorcycles parked along sidewalks or in apartment areas.

She added that with the arrest of the Bulat Gang, they have managed to solve 13 motorcycle theft cases in Selangor, involving an estimated loss of RM32,000. — Bernama