Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian police killed six suspects and detained four female accomplices who were believed to be involved in a series of recent armed robberies in several states, news reports said Wednesday.

Acting on a tip, a team of eight policemen raided a house on Tuesday night in the northern state of Kedah suspected of being used for illegal gold smelting, state police chief Syed Ismail Syed Azizan said.

"When the policemen barged into the house and announced themselves, six men between the age of 20 and 50, fired several shots at them, and in defence, the police fired back, and the shots hit the six suspects," Syed was quoted as saying by the Star daily.

Syed said all the suspects were local that the four women in the house, aged between 21 and 28, were detained to assist police investigations.

He said police also seized three luxury cars and equipment used in gold smelting. (dpa)