Aware of the recent spate of shootings, police said that they are now zeroing in on gun-smuggling syndicates in order to nip the problem at the source.

Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar said that a task force has been assigned to bring gun smugglers to justice.

Khalid said police were already closing in on a ring which smuggled guns from neighbouring countries, including via Sungai Golok at the Kelantan-Thai border.

“We believe local and international syndicates are responsible for the weapons trade and responsible for the weapons trade and we are confident of catching them soon,” he was reported as saying by The Star .

He also reportedly said that the police are willing to have an independent body investigate allegations of corruption within the force as it has nothing to hide.

Khalid was commenting on the shooting of anti-crime NGO MyWatch R Sri Sanjeevan, 29, who was shot last Saturday. Sanjeevan had claimed police personnel were involved in crime rings.

He was gunned down while driving at a junction in Bahau, Negri Sembilan, by one of two men on a motorcycle.

NONE Sanjeevan’s shooting, which sent ripples across the nation, was followed by another high-profile shooting involving AmBank founder Hussain Ahmad Najadi, 75.

He was shot dead in broad daylight in a parking lot in Kuala Lumpur, while two other men died from shootings in Ipoh and Nibong Tebal respectively.

The Ipoh shooting was dubbed as a “gangland style” shooting by the New Straits Times , while the man in Nibong Tebal was shot by one of two men on a motorcycle at a traffic light junction

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