JOHOR BARU: Police here have arrested four men for allegedly being involved in several robberies and break-ins around the Iskandar development area.
Johor Baru North OCPD Asst Comm Rupiah Abd Wahid said the men were arrested by a special task force that was set up to trace the suspects involved in break-in and robbery cases that took place between July 28 and Aug 8 around Tampoi and Taman Ungku Tun Fatimah.
"A convenience store in Tampoi was broken into on July 28 where the robbers took some cash and items, causing losses of about RM15,000.
"In a separate incident on Aug 8, two men, armed with vegetable knives, had robbed a shop selling medicine at Taman Ungku Fatimah at about 6.30pm. They managed to get away with a bracelet and cash of about RM1,500. However, no injuries were reported.
"Following the incidents, the Johor Baru North police headquarters formed a special task force to trace those involved in the two cases," she said in a statement here on Thursday (Aug 26).
She said that three of the suspects were arrested on Tuesday (Aug 24) at three separate locations around Skudai and Iskandar Puteri.
"The three men are between the ages of 27 and 36 and are believed to be involved in the break-ins.
"The police also seized some drugs from the suspects. All suspects have criminal records involving drugs and crime and one of them is also a wanted man for a drugs case," she said.
She said that the task force also arrested a man in his 30s at Bandar Selesa Jaya, who is believed to be the culprit behind the robbery case.
"The suspect is believed to have committed the robbery with his accomplice, who is still at large.
"Following the arrest of the four men, the police have solved a total of 11 break-in cases and five robbery cases around the Iskandar development area," she said, adding that all suspects are currently being remanded to assist in investigations.
The cases are being investigated under Section 395/397 of the Penal Code for gang robbery and Section 457 of the same Act for house breaking.