KUCHING, MALAYSIA: Police scored a major breakthrough in their investigations into the armed robberies at several VIP homes here when they arrested nine Indonesian workers yesterday. The Indonesian nationals had apparently entered the state on social visit passes.

Initial investigations also found that the men had valid passports and had passed off as labourers by being with other Indonesian workers in a workers' quarters at the MJC Batu Kawa construction site.

Sarawak deputy police commissioner Datuk Abdul Rahman Husain said their arrests were a result of a public tip-off.

"We mounted the operation to nab them based on the good ground intelligence and this is the result of the close co-operation between the police and the public," Abdul Rahman told a press conference at the police headquarters here yesterday.

The operation was carried out at 2am, involving 57 police officers and men from state and district CID and the General Operations Force.

As a platoon of GOF personnel secured the perimeter, the remaining CID personnel, led by Kuching deputy police chief Superintendent Fauzi Bujang, stormed the quarters.

Several policemen rushed to the second floor of the two-storey building and detained four of the suspects.

The four suspects later led police to another five of their alleged accomplices who were hiding under the raised floor of the building.

In the raid, police seized two home-made pistols, nine .38 calibre bullets, a spear gun, a toy gun, seven knives, a parang, an axe, a pair of binoculars and a balaclava. The items are believed to have been used in a spate of armed robberies here.

Abdul Rahman said the suspects were believed to be members of a syndicate.

"Our investigations show that there are four gangs responsible for the robberies. However, we were surprised to see those that we had identified staying together in the quarters," said Abdul Rahman.

Investigations also showed that all suspects were not employees of the construction company but were squatting with their friends living at the quarters.

The four-hour raid ended at 6am. All the suspects are currently detained at the police headquarters here.

Police had launched Ops Cegah Jenayah on Thursday following a spate of robberies in posh residential areas here.

Among the victims were Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri George Chan and Semariang state assemblyman Sharifah Hasidah Syeed Aman Ghazali.