[SawbasyWrab]

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The New Paper
Saturday, Jun 02, 2012

For two weeks, undercover cops in Malaysia had their eye on a group of men with criminal links to Singapore.

They suspected these men of stealing cars in Malaysia, then shipping some of them to Singapore.

With the help of a crooked freight agent, they declared the cars as disposable diapers in the shipping log.

In a telephone interview, a Malaysian police spokesman revealed to The New Paper how they smashed the ring. He said they had been monitoring the syndicate members for a fortnight.

Last Thursday, the police launched an operation at an industrial area in Kampung Baru Subang.

While monitoring an abandoned furniture factory, they saw a Toyota Hilux being driven out.

The spokesman told The New Paper in Malay: "We followed them without their knowledge for quite a distance to a coffee shop and arrested them there."

Five Malaysian men aged between 22 and 30 were arrested at about 8.45pm.

All of them tested positive for drug abuse. Four of them also have past convictions for various offences.

They were remanded until Thursday to assist in police investigations.

The Toyota Hilux they were in was also seized.

The Malaysian syndicate smuggled stolen cars from Malaysia to other countries by using Singapore and Bangkok as transit points.

Following the arrest, the police raided the factory, which was used as a holding area for the stolen vehicles. The vehicles had been fitted with false registration plates.

During the raid, the police found two containers with three four-wheel drive vehicles in each - four were Toyota Hiluxes and two were Toyota Fortuners - believed to be on their way to Singapore and Thailand.