A Bukit Aman policeman who was in the midst of gathering information on the underworld and smuggling activities at the Malaysia-Thai border was gunned down at a friend's house in Jitra last night.

A gunman, suspected to be a contract killer, fired six shots in the direction of Sub-Inspector Abu Hashim Ismail, 54, four of which struck him in the back in the 10.25pm incident at Taman Sri Hosba in Changlun.

The policeman who was attached to the CID at the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman, died at the scene.

Kedah police chief Datuk Asri Yusoff said the murdered policeman's 35-year-old friend had been remanded for a week to facilitate investigations into the killing.

He said the police were also in the midst of closing in on two other men, aged 30 and 36, to assist in the investigations.

According to Asri, Abu Hashim was on holiday when he met up with the friend at the latter's house to obtain information on gangsterism and smuggling activities at Bukit Kayu Hitam near the Malaysia-Thai border.

He said while the policeman was having a conversation in the compound of the house, a gunman suddenly appeared and fired six shots in his direction from outside the main gate.

"Abu Hashim was killed on the spot. We believe this incident (the killing) was linked to the (police) operations currently being conducted under the Prevention of Crime Act (Poca) at Bukit Kayu Hitam over the past two weeks," he told a press conference at the Kedah police contingent headquarters here today.

The policeman's body was sent to the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Setar.

Meanwhile, Asri said a team from the Kuala Muda district police headquarters CID gunned down a man in the 'police wanted list' who was also leader of the notorious 'Geng 36' secret society.

The man in his 30s was killed during a police raid at his house in Lagenda Heights, Sungai Petani today.

Asri said in the 7.30am raid, the suspect ran towards a bathroom on the upper floor of the house to hide when the policemen identified themselves.

"At that juncture, the man fired a gunshot in the direction of the raiding team, forcing the police to return fire, killing him on the spot," he added.

Upon inspecting the house, the police seized three plastic packets containing dried leaves believed to be ganja weighing 62.47 grammes, two plastic packets of heroin (27.8 grammes) and a Bernerdelli pistol.

-- BERNAMA