SHAH ALAM: Imitation firearms known as "gel blasters" were "flying off the shelf" at a toy shop in Shah Alam before the law caught up with its activities.
The shop in Seksyen 7 here was said to have been restocking these "toys" weekly to meet the high demand.
It was learnt that the shop operator maintained a stock of 30 to 40 of these imitation firearms at any given time.
A team of plainclothes policemen from the Wildlife Crime Bureau / Special Intelligence Investigation Unit raided the shop on Sunday evening and seized more than 30 imitation firearms, including replicas of M4 carbine rifles and an imitation Barrett M82 sniper rifle.
Stock records revealed that the man was receiving between 20 and 30 new imitation guns every week, indicating strong demand for the items.
When questioned by police, the man claimed he was aware of the recent crackdown because his supplier had been arrested.
The suspect claimed he was simply trying to sell off his remaining stock.
Later, another team raided a stall in Uptown Shah Alam and seized 31 imitation rifles and submachine guns.
The operator told police that word had spread amongst imitation gun sellers about the ongoing crackdown.
He claimed to have started selling these "toys" three months ago.
He also told police that on a good day, he could sell at least eight of the imitation assault rifles and submachine guns.
He said many sellers had stopped selling these items on social media due to intensified police operations.