KATHMANDU: Police have arrested six men, including a Nepali national, suspected to be part of a car theft syndicate at Seri Kembangan (Serdang) — a town located in Selangor district, Malaysia, last week.

Police investigation revealed the Nepali national worked as security guard at residential building complex and passed on information about vehicles to the car theft syndicate.

Serdang Officer in Charge of Police District (OCPD) Assistant Commissioner AA Anbalagan said Criminal Investigation Department personnel from the district and Kuala Lumpur initially arrested three men and seized a Mercedes S320 along with a Toyota Estima at about 2 pm on July 25.

“Police seized the two cars after reports of stolen vehicles were registered. Based on interrogations, a follow-up operation was conducted the next day and three other suspects were arrested, including a Nepalese national,” Anbalagan told the local media on Friday (July 30).

He said police also seized several mobile phones, a key programmer, six vehicles, including a Volkswagen Passat, Audi Q7 and Toyota Fortuner. “Two of the vehicles seized were reported stolen in Seri Kembangan. Our investigations revealed the syndicate would look for vehicles that were left for long periods inside condominium parking lots,” he said.

He added the syndicate believe the vehicles were owned by foreigners who had left the country for a long time. He said further investigations revealed two of the suspects arrested were potential buyers.

“One of the suspects, a 40-year-old man, was the owner of a key shop and had experience in making and programming secondary keys.

“The Nepalese man arrested worked as a security guard and gave the syndicate information on vehicles left for long periods at the condominium he was working at,” he said. He noted police had connected the syndicate to seven cases so far.

(With inputs from Agencies)