The Legend of Radiator Raja

Monday June 9, 2008 MYT 8:39:27 PM
Car thief ‘Radiator Raja’ nabbed
By EDWARD RAJENDRA

KLANG: A car thief nicknamed ‘Radiator Raja’ has been arrested and investigations reveal that his relatives had helped him cannibalised the vehicles before pushing the parts to workshops.

The man, 36, has been on the police wanted list for the past 18-months.

He has been getting the help of his 28-year-old wife, uncle and brother-in-law to cannibalise a car within an hour before the parts were disposed off to workshops or spare part outlets.

Klang OCPD Assistant Commissioner Mohamad Mat Yusof said initial investigations showed that with the arrest of Radiator Raja, some 30 cases of stolen vehicles have been solved.

Police believed that from Jan to May this year he had stolen 18 cars in Shah Alam and here.

“Our men had uncovered a family of thieves. We are glad that we have nabbed Radiator Raja, his wife and his uncle. We are looking for others in connection with the case,” he said.

According to a mechanic, Radiator Raja was able to fashion metal strips into car keys according to their model and could steal a car within a minute, including disarming the alarm system.

On stealing a car he would hand it over to his uncle who would dismantle the engine and his brother-in-law would cut up the body to be pushed to workshops.

Police are also trying to trace his brother-in-law and a workshop operator.

ACP Mohamad added that most of the cars stolen were models such as Nissan Sunny 130Y, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Camry and Proton Wira.

Radiator Raja has been remanded until Wednesday.