6 members of 'Gang 360 Devan' plead not guilty to involvement in organised crime

A "Datuk" and 35 members of 'Gang 360 Devan' pleaded not guilty in the High Court, here, today for being part of an organised crime group.

They include politician Datuk M. Kalai Arasu, 45, M. Mohan, 34, P. Subramaniam, 54, S. Ravindran, 37, S. Raman, 62, R.P. Rajendran, 48, E. Shamuganathan, 45, A. Karpanah, 57, J.J. Vignasevaran, 42, R. Premraj, 37, V. Arivalagan, 42, R. Suresh Kumar, 39, M. Thananbalan, 41, M. Kalimuthu, 28, M. Saravanan, 37, and R.Sunderan, 61.

The other accused are A. Erathai Pragash, 49, T. Ravendaran, 30, M. Danes, 25, S. Sivaneswaran, 25, V. Vigny Alfred Raj, 29, R. Subramaniam, 37, R. Kannan, 33, M. Saravanan, 37, M. Jayakumar, 36, P. Karthik, 31, S. Krishna, 34, Abdullah Sritharan, 32, R. Yogendran, 30, Mohd Sarif Abdul Karim, 31, M.Paramuguru, 40, K. Alagasuveeran, 41, R. Sathies, 32, B. Letchumanan, 31, Muhammad Rushlan Abdullah, 44, and R. Elanggo Naidu, 31.

The all claimed trial after the charge was read out to them before judge Datuk Nordin Hassan who then set July 24 to 28 for hearing of the case.

They were charged with being involved with an organised crime group, 'Gang 360 Devan' at Empayer Sdn Bhd, No 1, Jalan Perniagaan Masria 1, Pusat Perniagaan Masria, Batu 9, Cheras, here, between Jan 1, 2015 and Feb 7, 2017. The offence under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code provides for a jail term of up to 20 years, if found guilty.

The men were arrested under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (SOSMA) 2012. Under the SOSMA procedure, an accused is not allowed bail until the disposal of the case.

All of them are detained at Sungai Buloh Prison.

DPP Mohamad Mustaffa P. Kunyalam appeared for the prosecution while lawyers Datuk Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin, Chan Choon Yu and A. Vasudevan represented the accused.

In March, the accused were charged in the Kajang Sessions Court for taking part in organised crime. Cases involving offences under SOSMA are tried in the High Court.