Kuala lumpur: The Home Ministry (KDN) is conducting a detailed investigation from various angles, including the possibility of organised crime elements, following the arrest of nine individuals linked to a shooting incident targeting a vehicle carrying the commander of the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) in Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah, last Wednesday.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail stated that if the case involves organised crime, it must meet the criteria under Section 130V of the Penal Code, which requires the involvement of two or more individuals benefiting through influence or financial gain. He highlighted that the authorities are still working to determine if the suspects were operating as a group.
The minister also mentioned that the case has not yet been classified as organised crime, as the evidence-gathering process is ongoing. He revealed that two more individuals were detained recently, bringing the total number of suspects arrested to nine, comprising eight local men and one foreign woman. The police plan to apply for a remand order against the two newly arrested suspects to aid further investigations, as numerous investigative hypotheses are being explored.
Saifuddin Nasution further noted that the investigation is focusing on several potential activities of the group, including involvement in smuggling goods, human and migrant smuggling, human trafficking, and possible retaliation or threats against enforcement officers. He also mentioned the possibility that the incident was an act of revenge by a syndicate in response to the government's recent stringent measures to tighten border controls.
Previously, police arrested nine individuals, including a Thai woman aged between 22 and 52, suspected of involvement in the case during several raids in Bukit Kayu Hitam and Padang Besar, Perlis, on the day of the incident. The shooting involved a Proton X70 sport utility vehicle (SUV) driven by Mohd Nasaruddin, targeted at 5.40 am near the Muhajirin Mosque, approximately one kilometre from the Malaysia-Thailand border. The suspect fired two shots, believed to have been from a semi-automatic weapon, at the victim's vehicle.