3 nabbed for impersonating customs officers

At first glance, they looked like customs officers.

They even had "work passes" and "vests".

But the three men's luck ran out when police conducted crime prevention patrols in Taman Johor Jaya, Johor Baru, last week.

The men were nabbed for allegedly impersonating customs officers, China Press reported.

With the arrests, police also solved seven robbery and extortion cases.

Johor police chief Mohd Mokhtar Mohd Shariff said the suspects were aged 22 to 28, and were arrested during patrols in the area.

He told a press conference at the Johor Police Contingent headquarters in Johor Baru: "The police seized four customs work passes, three customs vests, two customs hats, one Johor Military Force identification card, two walkie-talkies and eight cartons of kretek (clove cigarette) from them."

CASH SEIZED

Utusan Malaysia reported that cash equivalent to S$1,400 and two Filipino passports were also seized.

Mr Mohd Mokhtar said that preliminary investigation showed that the trio had been operating in the Seri Alam area for two years.

The three do not have previous crime records.

The suspects are now being remanded to assist investigations.

If convicted of impersonating public officers, they can be jailed up to two years, or fined, or both, reported Oriental Daily News.

This article was first published on March 15, 2015.
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