JOHOR BARU: Police arrested three men in connection with a car theft ring, identified as 'Gang Meot', following a series of raids across the state.
Five stolen vehicles were recovered during the operations.
Johor Baru (South) police chief Assistant Commissioner Raub Selamat said the arrests came after a 75-year-old man reported his car missing from a hotel in Mount Austin on Aug 30.
"Acting on a tip-off, we launched 'Op Lejang' on Sept 30, between 12.30am and 5.30am and stormed five locations in a series of raids," he told reporters at the district police headquarters.
In the first arrest in Taman Johor Jaya, a 44-year-old man was detained and a Perodua Kancil recovered.
Subsequent raids in Kota Tinggi led to the arrests of two more men, aged 35 and 41, and the recovery of two Honda Accords, a Nissan Cefiro, and a Toyota Corolla.
All five vehicles were reported stolen.
Raub said Gang Meot targeted older model vehicles, after gaining access by tampering with the vehicle's door. They used a sharpened Allen key to start the engines.
Criminal background checks revealed that all three suspects had extensive records related to car theft and drug offences.
The first had 20 prior entries in his criminal record, the second had 21, and the third had 25.
Two of the suspects were also on the police wanted list.
Urine tests conducted on all three men returned positive for methamphetamine.