Three of the thieves were nabbed on Monday night after they rammed a mobile police patrol unit several times at Jalan PJS 10/11 in a bid to escape.

Petaling Jaya district police chief Asst Comm Arjunaidi Mohamed said, at 11.30pm, two police personnel on rounds spotted three men behaving suspiciously in a Toyota Camry.

On checking, the policemen found that the Camry had been reported stolen in Subang earlier this month.

The driver sped off when ordered to stop. However, his bid to evade the police proved futile when he came to a dead end.

“The driver then rammed the police car several times. Despite repeated warnings he refused to stop,” ACP Arjunaidi said.

This prompted a policeman to fire two shots at the car. Two suspects were caught on the spot while the third, who tried to flee on foot, was captured a while later.

ACP Arjunaidi said, in the Camry, police found a machine to produce keys, 22 fake number plates, 13 road tax stickers, eight car windscreens, a drill and a parang (machete).

“The drill is used to deactivate the alarm system of targeted vehicles. Several luxury car emblems were also seized from the trio,” he added.

ACP Arjunaidi said follow up investigations led to the arrest of a fourth member of the gang at his home in the city centre the next day.

“We believe there are more people linked to the syndicate and police are checking if the stolen cars were disposed of in neighbouring countries,” he added.

Sos: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=...1214&sec=nation