KUCHING: Twenty-one men, believed to be involved in violent gang activities across several districts in Sarawak, were arrested in a large-scale police crackdown under ‘Ops Pusak Merah’.
The operations, carried out on April 15, involved Bukit Aman’s D9 unit and the Sarawak Contingent’s Criminal Investigation Department, targeting groups active in Kota Samarahan, Kuching, Simunjan and Padawan since 2024.
Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Director, Datuk M. Kumar S. Muthuvelu, said the suspects, aged between 19 and 44 years ole, were detained at multiple locations following coordinated raids.
“Initial checks found that the suspects had prior records involving serious offences such as rioting, causing grievous hurt, robbery, mischief and drug-related crimes.
“Efforts to track down and arrest several individuals believed to be linked to the network, who are still at large, are ongoing,” he said in a statement.
He said the operations were carried out as a proactive effort by the department to cripple syndicates believed to be involved in extortion, causing grievous hurt and rioting using weapons, which had caused concern among the local community.
He stressed that continuous action would be taken against any individual or group involved in criminal activities, gangsterism and violent crimes to ensure public safety and well-being are preserved.
“Police also urge the public to continue cooperating by providing information on any criminal activities to help the authorities curb crime from becoming more widespread,” he added.
All suspects have been remanded for six days from Apr 15 to Apr 20 to assist investigations.
The case is being investigated under several provisions of the Penal Code, including Section 148 for rioting while armed, Section 326 for causing grievous hurt using weapons, Section 384 for extortion, Section 394 for voluntarily causing hurt during robbery, Section 427 for mischief, and Section 436 for committing mischief by fire or explosive substances.
