Police today shot dead in a shootout here five members of a triad gang believed to be also hired killers wanted for murders and attempted murders in three states, said Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar.
He said police believed one of the dead men was the leader of the gang and they were tracking down the remaining members of the gang which had committed the crimes in Penang, Kedah and Negri Sembilan.
The five men were shot dead in an apartment in Sungai Nibong, at 4.30 am during a shootout with a raiding police team from the D9 Special Investigation Division of the Penang CID with the assistance of the Bukit Aman D9 and Kedah D9 divisions.
Police recovered three guns from the dead men, namely a silver Norinco, a silver .38 revolver and a black Walther PPK.
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Khalid said that from an examination of the firearms seized in the operation, police were able to solve 10 cases of murder and two cases of attempted murder in the three states.
Seven of the 10 murders and two attempted murder cases occurred in Penang. Two of the murders occurred in Kedah and one in Negri Sembilan. All the cases took place over the past year, with the latest in Penang," he told a news conference at the Penang Police headquarters, here.
Khalid said police were tracking down several other members of the gang believed to have been involved in the murders and shootings.
"Preliminary investigation indicates that one of the five shot dead today was the leader of the gang. The gang moved about on the orders of the leader and based on its targeted victims.
"It does not stay in any one place for long so as to avoid detection by the police," he said.
Khalid said police had been monitoring the gang for several months and had set up a special team to investigate all the murder and shooting cases.
"The investigation and intelligence gathered resulted in today's success," he said.
Replying to a question, Khalid said the gang members offered themselves for hire to kill or shoot but they had also killed and shot people out of vengeance and other motives.
He also said that four of the five men had several previous criminal records.
