Twelve individuals face charges for being members of the Richi and Vincent organised crime groups in Johor, with potential jail terms of up to 20 years.
JOHOR BAHRU: Twelve individuals have been charged in separate Sessions and Magistrate Courts here with being members of organised crime groups.
Six men were charged with membership in the Richi Gang, while six others, including a woman and a 17-year-old boy, were charged over the Vincent Gang.
The Richi Gang members are accused of committing offences as part of an organised crime group at a playground in Masai between February 2024 and September 2025.
The six Vincent Gang members pleaded not guilty to joining the group at a location in Kulai between March 2025 and January 2026.
All charges were framed under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code. This section carries a potential prison sentence of five to 20 years upon conviction.
The adults appeared before two Sessions Court judges, while the minor was charged before a magistrate.
Only three of the accused were legally represented during the proceedings. The remaining nine individuals were unrepresented in court.
All three courts set March 12 for a case mention to obtain forensic reports from the defendants’ mobile phones. No bail was granted for any of the accused.
Deputy public prosecutors Mohammad Fakhrurrazi Ahmad Salim and Lokman Kasim appeared for the prosecution in the cases.
The charges follow recent police operations in Johor. Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Khalid Ismail said police dismantled an online sexual extortion syndicate and solved 32 burglary cases through Ops Bugil and Ops Shutter.
Reported losses from the solved burglary cases exceeded RM4 million.