Police are hunting down three men suspected to have broken into homes in Kuantan and Rompin, using a luxury vehicle Toyota Estima to fool the people.

Kuantan district police chief ACP Mohamad Noor Yusof Ali said in the latest incident on Friday, the suspects were believed to have broken into three homes in Seri Teruntum, Lorong Alor Akar and Jalan Tengku Muhammad in Kuantan between noon and 5pm.

He said the victims suffered losses amounting to RM150,000 including cash, watches, handphones, watches, laptops and a Mazda CX-5 car.

"Based on the closed-circuit television (CCTV) recording in one of the victims’ homes, the suspects would first stake out the house to make sure the victims and their neighbours were not at home.

“One of the suspects would be in front of the house for about 10 to 15 minutes, pretending to make a telephone call while he studied the situation before he and his friends broke into the house by prying open the grills and glass sliding door.

"We believe another suspect would be waiting in the car so that they could make a quick escape. We also do not discount the possibility that a woman was also involved,” he said in a press conference at the Kuantan district police headquarters last night.

Mohamad Noor said based on the CCTV recordings, the suspects were believed to be Malays, aged between 22 and 35, with one being stout and the other thin.

He said because the suspects seemed confident and did not cover their faces while outside the victims’ homes to avoid the neighbours’ suspicion, police believe they have committed these crimes before.

“Investigations into the registration number ​​​​​​​W6097R of the black or dark-coloured Toyota Estima found that it had been cloned from a car of a similar make. This shows that the suspects were from an organised group,” he said.

Mohamad Noor said police believe the car was stolen and the suspects had committed similar crimes outside Pahang.

- Bernama