The suspects, aged between 38 and 64, had gone to Pulau Lundayan in a boat at 10am yesterday. One of them was armed with an M16 rifle.

It was learnt that the armed suspect fired several rounds into the air and water as the boat approached the island.

The suspects then ordered everyone to come out from their houses.

They also assaulted several of the residents before telling two villagers to buy syabu, or methamphetamine, at a nearby island.

According to a source, the suspects also forced villagers to surrender their petrol from their boats to them.

Before leaving, the suspects took watches, cash, mobile phones, grocery items and about 100kg of dried fish.

It was understood that the victims took a boat to file a complaint at the Kanibongan police beat base on the mainland after the suspects left.

Sabah police chief Zaini Jass confirmed that the suspects had been detained.

“One of them is a civilian while the rest are GOF personnel. We have detained them for further investigations,” he said when contacted.