If you have ever watched one of the well-known movies from Netflix called ‘Money Heist’, you will definitely feel amazed and also mind-blown on how strategically these people came out with this kind of heist without being caught by anyone. You might say that it is just a made-up thing because it is a movie, but there is actually a particular heist that happened in real life even in Malaysia. In addition, it is a gold heist and it happened in the year 1994.
The notorious gold heist actually was done by a group called ‘Mamak Gang’. This particular gang is a notorious Malaysian gang that has been active since the early 1990s. Originally they specialized in breaking into factories and also warehouses, but eventually, they switched to mainly carjacking and robbing motorists. The gang is most notorious for stealing RM 12 million worth of gold bars from the Malaysia Airlines cargo complex at the former Subang Airport on Merdeka Day 1994.
This has been considered to be one of the most daring robberies. The heist reportedly took only 20 minutes to execute and it happened on Independence Day. The impossible feat took place around midnight. On the 31st August 1994, when the nation was celebrating its 37th Merdeka Day, it was reported that the PDRM received an alarm at 5 AM and that gold bars worth RM12 million kept in the cargo of Subang International Airport had been stolen. A total of three security guards were found tied up. They said that they were talking to a ‘policeman’ when they were ambushed. Later, it was reported that the ‘policeman’ was actually a ‘Mamak Gang’ member in disguise.
The police department was under immense pressure to solve the crime so they put two of their best investigators that are Azinan Anan and Amidon Anan on it. The Anan brothers discovered similarities with previous robberies where the perpetrators impersonated police or authority figures and didn’t use weapons. The clues pointed to the ‘Mamak Gang’ led by two brothers who were said to be involved in thieving acts since they were young.
Even though the two brothers had been under the police radar for years prior, this heist came as a surprise. The police then chased down the ‘Mamak Gang’ members who became fugitives. Once, policemen spotted one of the suspects and a car chase led by Amidon Anan ensued but the suspects escaped. After months of tracking, the police finally arrested one of the gang leaders. They interrogated him and arrested another gang leader and rounded up around 20 ‘Mamak Gang’ members. However, the eldest leader of the gang was still at large.
After their arrests, the suspects were said to have told the police that the eldest leader was the mastermind of the heist. Planning started months before when the gang received information about the shipment of gold bars. They waited for Merdeka Day because it was the time when most airport employees were on leave and the security was less guarded, to strike. One of the siblings was the one who impersonated as a police officer. He tricked the security into bringing him to the warehouse where the gold bars were kept. The rest of the gang members then sprung into action, moving 300kg gold bars to their cars in record time.
The police were unable to retrieve all the gold bars because the gang had melted their identification mark away. Then, two of the brothers were charged. Not long after, the eldest brother was finally arrested and charged together with his brothers. However, there wasn’t enough evidence to convict them. Until one of the gang members decided to switch sides and become a witness. His testimony would have likely sealed the fate of the siblings.
But when the day of the trial came, the witness had gone missing mysteriously. The gang leaders were eventually found not guilty of the charges and released.
Sources: YouTube Samida Wendel