PORT KLANG (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Malaysian police have busted a syndicate involved in the theft and illegal export of lorry parts with the arrest of five men, including a Bangladeshi and Egyptian national.

Police also managed to recover a container with RM 2 million (S$675,830) worth of cannibalised lorry parts with the help of their Singapore counterparts and Interpol.

Selangor police chief Mazlan Mansor said that a team of officers from the Klang South district headquarters arrested the Bangladeshi and another man on Jan 23 while they were cannibalising parts and components from stolen lorries.

''Following the arrest, we picked up a lorry driver and an Egyptian national in his 30s, who is believed to be the man arranging the sale of the parts and components,'' Datuk Mazlan told a press conference on Wednesday (Feb 21).

On Feb 13, police then detained another male suspect.

''Further investigations led us to identify a container with cannibalised parts and components that was on its way to Singapore," he said.

''With help from the Singapore police force and also Interpol, the container was seized and later sent back to us on Feb 2," he said.

Among the parts seized were 13 Isuzu lorry engines, all the serial numbers of which had been tampered with, and parts such as drive shafts, absorbers, steering wheels, dashboards and axles.

He said that the syndicate, known as the Botak Siva syndicate, has been active since 2015.