KUALA LUMPUR: Police have arrested eight men and a woman after crippling a car theft syndicate that targeted Proton Wira cars.

       The syndicate would steal the cars in order to cannibalise them for parts which would be sold to interested buyers or to scrap yards.

       Sentul OCPD Asst Comm Beh Eng Lai said police conducted a series of raids between Feb 9 and Feb 15 at Sentul, Petaling Jaya and Rawang.

       "We arrested eight men and a woman aged between 24 and 38 years old during these raids.

       "The arrests led to the seizure of four Proton Wira cars which were reported stolen," he said in a statement Thursday (Feb 17).

       He said the cars were worth an estimated RM24,000.

       "We also seized nine mobile phones, car keys, Touch'n Go cards, Smart Tag devices, and tools believed to be used to steal cars.

       "Our investigations revealed the syndicate was led by two of the suspects.

       "They stole the cars in order to strip them for parts which would be sold to spare parts shops and interested buyers around Gombak," he said, adding that the car batteries would be sold to scrap yards.

       He said all the suspects had prior records for criminal activities, while the main suspect was a Prevention of Crime Act (Poca) detainee who had just been released.

       "We have remanded six of the suspects to facilitate further investigations while two others have been released on bail and would act as witnesses.

       "We have tied five car theft cases to the syndicate with four identified in Kuala Lumpur and one case in Selangor," he said, advising the public to always obey the laws in order to maintain public order and peace.

       ACP Beh said stern action would be taken against anyone caught breaking the law.

       Those with information on criminal activities can contact the Sentul police operations room at 03-4048 2206 or Sentul CID at 03-4048 2222.