5 hijack lorry carrying RM910,000 in gold wire

Driver and attendant dumped at separate sites.

SEREMBAN: A lorry carrying six boxes of gold wire weighing 33 kg and worth RM910,000 was robbed by a group of five men near the entrance to Taman Tuanku Jaafar (TTJ), here, about 10am, yesterday.

Seremban police chief, ACP Muhamad Zaki Harun said the lorry driven by Mohd Irwadi Abdullah, 32, accompanied by a lorry attendant who acted as a security guard, was on its way from the UPS Courier Service godown at KLIA to deliver the goods to the NXP factory in the TTJ Industrial Zone.

“While at the Seremban-Tampin road near the entrance to TTJ, the lorry was blocked by a grey Toyota Alphard with a man in the driver’s seat while an unidentified car behind it carried four men.

Two of the men who were armed with axes came out and one of them splashed a liquid believed to be petrol on Mohd Irwadi and the attendant,” Muhamad Zaki said in a statement here.

He said both victims were then tied up and one of the attackers dragged the lorry attendant into his car and he was later dumped at KM228 of the North-South Expressway at Simpang Ampat, Malacca, southbound.

“The lorry was later driven by a suspect about two kilometres away and its consignment was transferred into a car and driven away,” he said.

He said the robbers also seized the personal items of Mohd Irwadi such as wallet containing RM150, mobile phone and personal documents.

He said Mohd Irwadi was later dumped at a nearby plant nursery. Muhamad Zaki said on inspecting the scene of the incident, police found a pump gun belonging to the lorry attendant beside a drain near the lorry.

Police have launched a manhunt for the suspects.

- BERNAMA