KOTA TINGGI (May 19): Police have arrested six men for stealing construction metal worth RM700,000 at the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid), which is part of the Petronas Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC).

Kota Tinggi OCPD Supt Ahsmon Bajah said the men, who were part of a syndicate dubbed “Geng Emmi Besi” were arrested during separate raids on Sunday (May 17) and Monday (May 18).

“The first arrest was conducted on May 17 at about 5.45pm where we arrested three men during a roadblock at Km49.5 Senai-Desaru Expressway.

“The second raid was conducted on May 18 at 3pm where we arrested another three men within the PIC area. All suspects are aged between 35 and 62,” he said during a press conference at Kota Tinggi District Police Headquarters here on Tuesday (May 19).

He added that the police are still on the hunt for the remaining seven men, aged between 30 and 45, including four who had previously worked at PIC and are believed to have been the mastermind behind the syndicate.

“The syndicate has been active for about a year and their modus operandi is to enter the complex and steal the construction metal using the fake documents that were forged by the mastermind for easy entry.

“They had also offered bribes of between RM150 and RM700 to the security guard each time they conducted their activity,” he said, adding that the police have also identified the security guard involved.

Supt Ahsmon added that the police have also confiscated 203 construction metal of various sizes worth RM700,000 aside from five trailer lorries and five mobile phones.

“We are still investigating the total amount that these syndicates have stolen as they have been operating for quite some time,” he said.

All of the arrested suspects are currently under remand from May 18 until May 21 to help with investigations.

The case is investigated under Section 379 of the Penal Code for theft, Section 447 of the Penal Code for trespassing, and Section 417/465 of the Penal Code for cheating and forgery.

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