IPOH:Five members of the ‘Farid Gang’, including a woman, were remanded under the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (POCA) on suspicion of being involved in motorcycle theft cases around Ipoh in the past six months.

Ipoh district police chief, ACP A. Asmadi Abdul Aziz said all the suspects, aged between 25 and 30 and unemployed, were detained separately on Oct 6 following a report lodged by a shopping mall employee whose Honda EX5 motorcycle was stolen last month.

He said the suspects, who were initially arrested under Section 397A of the Penal Code,  were re-arrested and remanded under POCA for 21 days beginning yesterday.

"Police began investigating the report on the missing motorcycle which was parked in the car park at about 11 pm on Sept 22.

"Upon investigation, police managed to trace and seized three motorcycle skeleton that were disposed off in a mine in Pasir Puteh after key components were removed by the gang,” he said in a press conference here today.

A.Asmadi said that with the arrests, police believe they have solved 19 motorcycle theft cases around Ipoh, adding that they were now on the hunt for the remaining gang members.

-- BERNAMA