Sepang police chief Norhizam Bahaman said the men, all local residents aged between 25 and 50, had criminal records and a history of drug abuse.

“With the arrests, police have been able to solve three cases of ERL cable theft that occurred in Sepang,” he said in a statement.

Norhizam also told Bernama police were tracking down two other suspects believed to be linked to the group.

“The stolen cables have not been recovered yet,” he said, adding that the case is being investigated for theft and trespassing.

On Wednesday, KLIA Express and KLIA Transit services were disrupted, purportedly as a result of a series of cable thefts.

The thefts occurred on the ERL route between the Salak Tinggi station and KLIA’s Terminal 1 station, and between Putrajaya and the Cyberjaya and Salak Tinggi stations.