KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Malaysian police have detained four suspects in a US$1 million robbery and shootout at Kuala Lumpur's airport this month that left five people wounded, a police official said Monday (21 Apr).
The four Malaysians were detained in three separate raids in southern Johor state Friday (18 Apr), said Zahedi Ayob, chief of the police force responsible for Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
Zahedi told The Associated Press that more people are suspected to be involved in the robbery at the airport on 9 Apr.
"We want to have a total cleanup. We want all the people. If there are 10 people involved, we'll arrest 10 people. If it's 20, we'll arrest 20," he told The Associated Press.
He declined comment on what role the four detained suspects may have played in the robbery.
The suspects were not immediately charged.
Firing hand guns, the robbers stole a bag of Singapore currency worth US$1 million from two money changers as they were walking to go inside the airport. The money changers and three others were injured in the shooting.
The robbery lasted less then three minutes and the culprits fled in getaway cars as airport guards opened fire.
A closed circuit camera did not record footage of the robbery. A spokeswoman from Malaysia Airports, who declined to be named citing protocol, said the camera was on surveillance mode and could not be switched on fast enough to record the events.
"It happened so fast ... so it did not manage to catch the actual incident," she said.
The brazen robbery highlighted the country's worsening crime situation and raised questions about airport security.
In Friday's raids, cash, guns and other items were also seized, Zahedi said.
Local media, citing unidentified sources, reported Monday that police were looking for a fifth suspect who knew the money changers' routine. Police have also found two burned-out cars, believed to be the getaway vehicles, the reports said.