Five gangsters dead in shootout with cops

GEORGE TOWN: Police today shot dead five criminals in a shootout at an apartment in Sungai Nibong during a raid at 4.30 am.

Penang Police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi said the five -- J. Gobinath, 31, R. Ramesh, 27, A. Vinut, 23, M. Suresh, 25, M. Gobinath, 21 -- had committed armed crimes in the country.

He said police recovered three guns from them, namely a silver Norinco, a silver .38 revolver and a black Walther PPK.

All of them had last-known addresses in Penang, he added.

Abdul Rahim said that following a tip-off from the public and surveillance, a team of police officers and men from the Penang, Kedah and Bukit Aman CID went to a rented apartment in Century Bay, Sungai Nibong, at 4.30 am.

The police knocked on the door and identified themselves but there was no answer and police tore down the door and entered the apartment, he said.

Several people in the apartment started firing at the police and the police returned fire, he said.

Following the shootout, police checked the apartment and found five men dead in the three rooms.

Abdul Rahim said the police were still conducting an examination of the apartment. --BERNAMA