Police cripple gang active in gas cylinder theft

KUANTAN: The police have crippled a gang believed to be actively stealing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders at business premises around the city, with the arrest of two local men, on Saturday (Dec 24).

Kuantan District Police chief ACP Wan Mohd Zahari Wan Busu said the suspects, aged 27 and 32, were arrested in front of a business premises on Jalan Bukit Ubi here.

"During the operation at 2.30 am, the police stopped the car the two suspects were travelling in, and found four gas cylinders in the back seat and four more in the boot, as well as a screwdriver.

"It then led to the arrest of a Bangladeshi man and the confiscation of 42 gas cylinders at a store in the Semambu industrial area here on Tuesday," he said during a press conference at the Kuantan District Police Headquarters (IPD) here today.

Wan Mohd Zahari said further investigations found that the 32-year-old foreigner, who had valid identification documents, was believed to have bought the cylinders stolen by the two suspects before selling them illegally.

"The modus operandi of this gang is to break into business premises between 2 and 5 am to steal one or two gas cylinders from restaurants, grocery stores and food courts, with the highest number stolen being 14, from a self-service laundry shop, " he said.

The gang is believed to be targeting business premises around Permatang Badak, Kemunting, Indera Mahkota, Air Putih and Jalan Beserah, and the police do not rule out the possibility that there are members of the gang still at large.

Preliminary checks also found that the two local suspects possessed criminal records, while all suspects are under remand until tomorrow.

-- BERNAMA