KUALA LUMPUR: Police smashed an international syndicate of burglars with the arrest of seven men, including two locals.

The two locals, aged 35 and 50, were believed to be the syndicate's mastermind and middleman. The middleman also owns a pawn shop, police said.

Ampang Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Abdul Jalil Hassan said police, acting on a tip-off, arrested five foreigners aged 30 to 40, in a house at Taman Tasik Permai, around 3.30pm on Monday.

"The suspects led us to the two men on Tuesday morning. We seized a laptop, a handycam, a watch, three handphones and a knife," he told a press conference at the Ampang Jaya police headquarters yesterday.

The seven suspects have been remanded until Nov 29 to assist in investigations.

Police believe the syndicate has been active for the past three months and was responsible for more than 18 house break-ins and robbery cases in the district.

Meanwhile, in an unrelated incident, police arrested a sundry shop owner for selling alcohol to under-aged youths.

ACP Abdul Jalil said police arrested the 35-year-old man in Taman Kosas Ampang at 10.30pm on Tuesday following complaints from the public.

They also seized 146 cartons of beer and 20 bottles of liquor worth about RM50,000.