State police chief Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said a team of cops was attempting to apprehend the wanted men at an oil palm plantation at around 4am when one of the suspects slashed a policeman with a parang.

He said the attack left the cop with serious injuries on his left hand, and that the incident could have taken his life, Harian Metro reported.

“We had no choice but to fire at them in self-defence. All three suspects died at the scene,” he was quoted as saying.

Dzulkhairi said the trio, aged 24 to 29 and known as “Gang DT”, were suspected to have been involved in about 20 robberies on houses, factories and eateries.

They had allegedly been operating since 2004 and caused RM1.3 million in losses to their victims, robbing targeted business premises with weapons in hand.