Malaysian police bust arms-smuggling syndicate: report

KUALA LUMPUR(AFP): Malaysian police have busted an arms syndicate that smuggled and sold weapons from the Royal Malaysian Navy armoury, arresting 32 people including 15 military personnel, a report said Tuesday.

The buyer of the weapons, who fled to China following the crackdown by the police and the navy, has also been repatriated and arrested, the Star newspaper said, citing unnamed sources.

The arrests have taken place over the past three months, the report said, adding that more than 20 other people had been detained during the course of the operation.

Police and navy officials have recovered most of the firearms, ammunition and explosives which were smuggled out of the navy armoury in northern Perak state over the last few years and sold to civilians, the daily said.

Sources told The Star that the weapons were taken from a cache that was about to be destroyed. Among the stolen items were several Steyr and Glock firearms and a number of hand grenades.

Malaysia's Deputy Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan confirmed the arrests and recovery of the weapons, it said.

"Investigations are almost complete," he reportedly said.