SITIAWAN, MALAYSIA -  Perak police have busted a nationwide syndicate of luxury car thieves and recovered some RM2.5mil (S$1.08mil) worth of vehicles and dismantled parts.

Six men, aged between 20 and 27, were arrested following a raid on a workshop at Ayer Tawar, near here, on April 18.

State CPO Deputy Comm Datuk Zulkifli Abdullah said police found 28 luxury vehicles, including Toyota Harriers and Proton Perdanas, and 27 car engines from three different stores in Ayer Tawar.

'We believe members of the syndicate have been stealing these vehicles since early this year,' he told a press conference here yesterday.

'They brought them to the workshops to be dismantled and then sold them off as spare parts at lower prices.'

DCP Zulkifli added that some of the vehicles had been used in various robberies across the country.

'They involve many people, not just the ones we detained in Perak,' he said.

Police have traced the stolen vehicles to seven robberies cases in Perak, 14 in Selangor, 15 in Kuala Lumpur, four in Penang, three in Kelantan, and one each in Johor and Pahang.

'We are now working closely with our state counterparts to trace the other members of the syndicate,' he said, adding that the six caught in Ayer Tawar had been remanded until tomorrow to assist in investigations.

In an unrelated case, three Vietnamese men and a local were arrested after they allegedly robbed a shop of RM200,000 worth of jewellery in a supermarket here last Friday.

DCP Zulkifli said the arrests were made after a shootout between the police and the suspects outside the supermarket at 4pm.

'We also confiscated a fake pistol, a Glock pistol, a hammer and a parang from the suspects,' he said, adding that no one was hurt in the robbery.

The four men, aged between 22 and 38, have been remanded until Friday to help with investigations.

DCP Zulkifli said police were still looking for three other suspects to help with the investigations.

They are Wong Hock Chai (Ah Chai) with identity card number 781101-08-6777, 923 Pekan Gurney @ 187 Taman Singa Baru, Kampung Koh, Sitiawan; Teoh Boon Teong (Ah Teh), IC number 740227-08-5787, 40 Taman Bunga Raya, Sitiawan; and Ngu Shu Hoe (Seng Ngah Chai), IC number 820504-08-5831, Lot 2516 Kampung Selamat, Sitiawan.

Those with information can contact their closest police station or the Manjung district police headquarters at 05-683 5222.