State police chief Azizee Ismail said the operation, conducted from March 26 to yesterday, involved officers and personnel from the Penang contingent’s criminal investigation department, along with the criminal investigation division of the Seberang Perai Utara police headquarters.

He said raids were carried out at several locations in the Barat Daya and Timur Laut districts, leading to the arrest of seven local men and two Indonesian women, aged between 23 and 43.

“During the operation, police also seized about 4.3kg of gold jewellery, a machete, four tyres with sports rims and two vehicles believed to have been used in the robberies.

“Preliminary investigations found that the group targeted salespersons transporting jewellery for delivery or transactions at gold shops around Penang,” he said in a statement today.

Azizee said that with the arrest of the suspects, police believed they had solved a gang robbery case reported at 9.20am on March 26 in Seberang Perai Utara, involving the loss of jewellery weighing 6,023.69g and valued at RM3.6 million.

He said checks found that three of the suspects had criminal records for serious offences, including one with 17 offences and one drug case.

“Three of the suspects tested positive for methamphetamine,” he said, adding that operations are ongoing to track down the gang members still at large.

The nine suspects have been remanded to assist investigations under Sections 395, 397 and 109 of the Penal Code.

Azizee advised against speculation that could affect police investigations or cause unnecessary public concern.