Initial investigations revealed the foreigners were linked to 14 robbery cases in Perak, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan over the past year.

Perak Police Chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi said police were left with little choice but to defend themselves as they returned fire, killing the thugs in the incident about 5.30am.

He said one of the police vehicles was fired upon but none of the policemen were injured.

Seized from the robbers’ Proton Waja was a semi-automatic Beretta pistol loaded with two bullets and four magazines. The car was stolen in Kelana Jaya in 2013.

“Also seized from the car were three machetes, three vehicle registration plates, a Samsung tablet and an assortment of jewellery,” Abdul Rahim told a press conference at the Muallim police headquarters here today.

He believed the dead robbers, in their 40s, who did not have identification documents on them, were foreigners as they bore no BCG vaccination marks.

Earlier, a team from the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman and the Perak CID spotted two men in a Proton Waja in Jalan Uli Slim.

Abdul Rahim said police identified themselves but the driver of the car sped off before the vehicle was intercepted and the duo detained.

He said it was at that juncture that the two men attacked the police before they were gunned down, adding that two of their accomplices were still at large.

– BERNAMA