State police chief Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said two of the gangs were identified as the Ah Tee Gang, led by three men specialising in motorcycle and vehicle thefts and the Ah Soon Pekong Gang, also comprising three men active in house break-ins and motorcycle theft.

He said the third gang, Abang Wan Gang, comprised a husband and wife along with two schoolboys, aged 13 and 15, who besides stealing motorcycles also broke into suraus or mosques to steal money.

“All gang members, aged between 13 and 46, were arrested in three separate raids around the Melaka Tengah district, at the end of September.

“Preliminary investigations found that all the suspects were unemployed, except for the two school-going teenagers.

“Nine of them tested positive for methamphetamine during their arrests,” Bernama reported him as saying today.

Dzulkhairi said the gangs operated in groups, targeting unoccupied houses, mosques, suraus or vehicles in secluded areas.

“With their arrests, police believe at least 25 cases of housebreaking and vehicle theft reported in Melaka have been solved,” he said.

Dzulkhairi said police also seized four cars, six motorcycles, five mobile phones, a parang and various housebreaking or vehicle theft tools.