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KUALA LUMPUR, July 2 (AFP) - Malaysian police and troops launched a major manhunt after a group dressed as high-ranking officers bluffed their way into an army camp early Sunday and stole more than 90 weapons. Defense Minister Najib Razak said 15 men wearing camouflage uniforms with the rank badges of senior officers entered the camp in the northern state of Perak and stole a "substantial amount" of arms. Local police quoted by the official Bernama news agency said M-16 and Steyr automatic rifles were among the more than 90 weapons carted away. Najib described the raid as professionally planned and unprecedented in Malaysia. "All 15 of them came and fled in three green Pajero vehicles bearing military plates," he said of the 4.15 a.m. raid on the 304 territorial (part-time) army camp at Pengkalan Hulu near Gerik. Gerik is close to the border with southern Thailand. Najib said the men, wearing the badges of officers ranging from captain to lieutenant colonel, pulled rank to bluff their way into the camp. The defense minister, quoted by Bernama, said they told the sentries they were there to make a surprise check. The sentries tried to check with higher authorities but the group "asserted authority with their ranks" and demanded to be taken to the armory, where they seized the weapons and ammunition. Najib said police and the army were conducting a major operation to track down the suspects. The defense forces chief, General Zahidi Zainudin, had flown to the camp to get a first-hand briefing. Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi lashed out at sloppy security. The incident showed that procedures at key installations such as weapons depots were ignored, said Abdullah, who is also Home (interior) Minister. "All the personnel there should have adhered strictly to the security procedures," he told reporters. Abdullah said inattention to security led to incidents like the weapons seizure and the abduction of 21 people by Filipino guerrillas from Sipadan Island in April. "We should learn from these incidents," he said, adding that the prevailing peace had lulled Malaysians into complacency. Superintendent Benjamin Hasbie, a spokesman for national police, said extra police had been sent to Perak and checkpoints and roadblocks had been set up. Najib said there were nine guards at the camp at the time. He declined to comment when asked whether the incident could be linked to developments in neighboring countries. "The military and police are conducting a manhunt, including in areas near the borders," he said. A Defense Ministry official, asked if the culprits might be off-duty soldiers, said "anything's possible." The official, who declined to be identified, said the gang must have had inside knowledge of military procedures. "It has never happened before in the history of the army," he said. Asked if the raid was an embarrassment, he said: "I think that's stating the obvious." In the most recent similar case, four Austrian-designed Steyr rifles went missing from another army camp in July 1999 and ended up in the hands of the notorious "Steyr Gang" of bank robbers. In January police tracked down and shot dead four members of the gang, which robbed nine banks and murdered a security guard. A report at the time said a soldier had been arrested for selling the rifles to the gang. |
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