JOHOR BARU: A motorcycle theft syndicate has been dismantled following the arrest of three men early this morning.
Johor Baru (South) police chief Assistant Commissioner Raub Selamat, said the suspects, aged between 21 and 37, were arrested in raids across four separate locations in the city and Muar.
The arrests followed a report lodged by a Singaporean man, who claimed his Yamaha RXZ motorcycle was stolen from a parking area at a hotel.
"Johor police criminal investigation department, along with the Johor Bahru (South) police's criminal investigation division, carried out the raids between 12am and 1.32am.
"During 'Op Lejang', the police confiscated three motorcycles suspected to have been stolen, along with the suspect's identification cards used to access parking areas.
"Checks revealed that the first suspect has 11 previous criminal records, while the third suspect has three," he said in a statement today.
Raub said a urine test on the first suspect came back positive for methamphetamine.
"Preliminary investigations revealed the suspects confessed to stealing motorcycles to fund their daily expenses.
"As a result of this syndicate's arrest, the police were able to solve two reported motorcycle theft cases," he added.
All three suspects have been remanded for four days until next Monday for further investigations.
The case is being investigated under Section 379A of the Penal Code.