Police arrested two of four men following a shootout here early today after a patrol team stumbled upon them in a four-wheel-drive vehicle trying to force another vehicle off the road.

The two men, aged 22 and 37, had been convicted of drug offences and had just served six-month jail terms at the Jawi Prison in Penang, said Kuala Muda Police chief ACP Md Zukir Md Isa.

He said police recovered a small axe, a taser gun, a pepper spray, a handphone and Malaysian passports from their vehicle.

Relating the encounter, Md Zukir said two policemen patrolling in an MPV behind the Park Avenue Hotel saw a Ford Ranger trying to force a Mitsubishi Triton off the road at 1.15am.

"Realising the presence of the police, the Ford Ranger sped off towards Taman Kempas in heavy rain, ignoring a police order to stop. The police patrol car gave chase and blocked the path of the Ford Ranger.

"The police pulled up by the side of the road and the Ford Ranger stopped on the road shoulder," he said in a statement.

When the police ordered the men to alight, they sped off in the vehicle towards the main road and almost knocked down one of the policemen, he said, adding that the police fired thrice at the front right wheel of the fleeing vehicle, forcing it to crash into a ditch.

The four men, two of them carrying sling bags, started running towards the Taman Palma housing estate, he said.

"The police heard the men shooting at them, but continued to give chase and caught two of them almost near Taman Sejati," he said, adding that one of them had a small knife in a holder attached to his belt.