The District Malir police on Saturday arrested three of the seven members of a gang for their alleged involvement in more than 100 criminal cases.
The arrests were disclosed during a press conference held by District Malir SSP Irfan Bahadur at his office on Saturday. He was accompanied by SSP Investigation Haider Raza.
The suspects were identified as Nadeem, Mehdi Hassan and Jansar Setha. According to the SSP, the gang had so far been involved in more than 100 criminal cases in different parts of the city, adding that the suspects were involved in looting Rs8.8 million from the owner of an easy load franchise in the Sukkan area on June 10 at gunpoint and they managed to escape after committing the crime.
Bahadur told media persons that the police initiated an investigation of the high-profile robbery following the incident, however, the police investigators managed to trace the suspects in the Behns Colony area with the help of CCTV footages and technical support within 40 days of the incident.
District Malir police chief said that the police recovered Rs4.7 million, 10 mobile phones, arms and ammunition from the gang members. He said that the other four members of the gang managed to escape.
During the initial course of interrogation, the suspects, who hailed from rural Sindh, admitted their involvement in more than 100 cases of crime, adding that they had also been arrested by police in the past and they recently got out of jail on bail.
The officer said that the remaining snatched money was with the fleeing members, adding that Nadeem was also arrested by the Gizri police for looting 10,000 US dollars in 2018. The suspects after committing robberies in Karachi used to escape to their hometowns. Cases against them had been registered while further investigation was underway.
Car snatchers
The Anti-Car Lifting Cell (ACLC) of the Karachi police on Saturday claimed to have busted a gang involved in snatching SUVs in Karachi.
Addressing a news conference at his office, ACLC chief SSP Amjad Shaikh disclosed the arrests of three alleged members of the gang who were identified as Hakim Ali, Ahsan Ali and Sajjan.
The SSP claimed that the gang was involved in the killing of Ayub Khan, the manager of a service station in the Sacchal area, on May 24 when Khan resisted their attempt to snatch an SUV. The police investigators had the CCTV footage of the crime scene, the officer said.
The gang also tried to snatch a vehicle from an officer of a law enforcement agency on Sharea Faisal on June 7, SSP Shaikh said.
He added that of the arrested suspects, Hakim was wanted by the police in 22 cases, Ahsan in 18 and Sajjan in 17 cases.
The ACLC chief claimed that the police seized two SUVs, two Toyota Corolla, three Toyota Premio and a Parado from their possession, along with arms and ammunition. The police also found tools for fiddling documents on them.
Cases had been registered against the suspects, the officer said. Further investigations are under way.
Five arrested
The Sindh Rangers on Friday claimed to have arrested five suspects during ongoing raids in parts of the city.
According to a spokesperson for the paramilitary force, a suspect was arrested during a raid carried out in the Baghdadi area of Lyari. He was identified as Sahil. The spokesperson said he was affiliated with the Zahid Ladla gang of Lyari and was involved in drug peddling in the area.
The Rangers troops also arrested two suspects during a raid in the Saeedabad area. They were identified as Noman and Hassan and allegedly involved in various cases of street crime and robberies.
Two more suspects, identified as Yasir Khan and Khalil Ahmed, were arrested by the paramilitary force during a raid conducted in the Model Colony area. According to the spokesperson, they were involved in drug peddling.
The Rangers also claimed to have seized arms, ammunition and drugs from their possession. The suspects were later handed over to the police to initiate legal proceedings.