Sunday August 21, 2011

Police recover bulk of RM2.3mil smartphones stolen at KLIA

By STEVEN DANIEL
stevend@thestar.com.my

SEPANG: Thieves carted off 2,100 new BlackBerry smartphones worth RM2.3mil from a warehouse at the KL International Airport (KLIA).

However, swift action by the police led to the arrest of five suspects.

The theft was detected on Friday when a logistics staff discovered the warehouse had been broken into and the phones missing, Selangor police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Tun Hisan Tun Hamzah said.

“The staff discovered the theft at 9.30am and alerted the police at 10.20am. A special taskforce was set up to investigate the matter.

“Two hours later we arrested a suspect and two others in the nearby airport cargo area.

Smart response: DCP Tun Hisan (left) and C/ Insp Balloo showing the 1,470 recovered Blackberry smartphones at the Sepang district police headquarters yesterday.

“The suspects in their 30s have been working at the KLIA cargo logistics section for between five and seven years,” he told a press conference at the Sepang district police headquarters yesterday.

DCP Tun Hisan said the suspects led the taskforce headed by C/Insp M. Balloo to a warehouse run by a licensed second-hand item dealer in Batu 12, Puchong and recovered 1,470 stolen phones.

Two men, including the 52-year-old owner of the premises, were arrested.

“We believe the thieves transported the phones to Puchong in a lorry,” he added.

DCP Tun Hisan said investigations revealed that the phones had arrived from Hungary on Thursday and were stored in the KLIA cargo warehouse while awaiting clearance from the Customs Depart-ment.

The phones were scheduled to be sent to a phone company in Petaling Jaya.

“The police is trying to trace the remaining 630 smartphones. We are investigating whether more people are involved,” he added.

The five suspects have been remanded for four days and investigated under Section 454 of the Penal Code.

DCP Tun Hisan said there was a growing trend of licensed second-hand dealers and scrap metal dealers being in cahoots with thieves.

Last year, it was reported that computer hard disks manufactured for CCTVs with a market value of RM4mil were stolen from a warehouse at KLIA.

The hard disks were later recovered at a warehouse in Perak.

DCP Tun Hisan also handed out certificates of commendation to the 10 police personnel who acted swiftly to arrest the thieves.