Melaka police chief Abdul Jalil Hassan said police detained nine members of the “Firdaus Botak” gang, including a woman, aged between 18 and 32.
They looted donation boxes at temples around the Alor Gajah district, involving losses of between RM8,000 and RM10,000.
He said the suspects were arrested after footage from closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed at a temple in Rembia, Alor Gajah, captured the break-in incident which took place about 2pm on Jan 26.
“Police had set up a special task force to track down the gang, and based on the CCTV footage, the first wave of arrests involving five gang members was done three hours later (after the break-in incident at the temple in Rembia) in Batu Berendam,” he said during a press conference here today.
The gang was led by a 23-year-old man known as “Firdaus Botak”. His 19-year-old wife was also part of the gang.
“The gang is believed to have been involved in 17 cases of breaking donation boxes at temples around Melaka.
“Eight gang members also tested positive for methaphetamine, and we believe their motive was to get the money to feed their drug habit,” he said.
Meanwhile, Jalil said the “Siti Jeram” gang, which is suspected of breaking a donation box at a mosque, was crippled with the arrest of a 32-year-old woman known as Siti from Kampung Jeram Masjid Tanah at a house in the village about 2am on Feb 2.
He said the woman allegedly committed the crime with her 13-year-old son and the latter’s 20-year-old friend, at a mosque in Kampung Rantau Panjang here at 10.20pm on Feb 1.
“The gang was caught based on CCTV footage from the mosque. When they were detained, all of them were found to be high on drugs and tested positive for methaphetamine.
“We also managed to arrest a 27-year-old man around Masjid Tanah a day after busting the Siti Jeram gang. This suspect is believed to have a connection with the gang,” Jalil said.
He said initial investigations revealed that the man was involved in five cases of mosque break-ins around the Alor Gajah district here, and the motive of the crime was also believed to be to raise cash for drug supplies.
In the meantime, he urged the managements of mosque and temples in the state to install CCTVs as a security measure as this could help police track down the suspects.