Gang activities cut by half in Sarawak

MIRI: Gang-related activities in Sarawak have been slashed by half with the removal of a large number of gangsters from the streets.
The police have now warned crime lords who had managed to escape that they could run but they hade no permanent place to hide.
The operation to rid gangsterism in Sarawak, codenamed Ops Cantas Kenyalang, had proven to be highly successful since the crackdown started in May this year, said CID Director Commissioner Datuk Christopher Wan.
The focus now is to nail those crime bosses who have escaped from the state and to clean up the remaining gangsters who are still around, he said Tuesday.
Bukit Aman and the Sarawak police contingent have reviewed the operation and are satisfied with the progress achieved in reducing the crime rates, he stressed.
“There has been a sharp drop in gangsterism in Sarawak. Almost 50% of their activities have been reduced since the start of the operation."
"Some of these gang leaders have escaped to peninsular Malaysia"
“We are pursuing them. They are hiding somewhere, but we will not let them escape."
"Our targets are to go for the crime chiefs. The number of gang members fluctuate all the time, but our main target is to get the heads," he told a press conference here.
Comm Wan said so far, a total of 20 gang bosses and their top henchmen had been arrested from the 17 major gangs in this state.
Of this, seven of them had been sent to Simpang Renggam detention centre under the Emergency Ordinance, two banished under restricted residence status in Bau, southern Sarawak, and one to Sabah and the rest still being held under remand, he said.
Comm Wan said 514 cases of gangster-related crimes had been probed so far and 381 gangsters arrested, with 237 of them charged in court for crimes ranging from extortion to criminal intimidation.
As for prostitution-related offences, 608 people had been arrested, with 329 charged in court, while 1,146 badhats have been arrested for gambling.

tunku : my only question is what were the sarawak police doing before?????????