Mugging deaths fell by 32pc in city in first eight months of 2025: Odho

There has been a decrease in various crimes in the city during the first eight months of this year compared to 2024, claimed Karachi police chief Additional IG Javed Alam Odho during a media briefing at the Karachi Police Office (KPO) on Saturday.

He said that in 2025 till date, the Karachi police had killed 94 robbers in encounters and arrested 626 with injuries. The traffic police also issued challans to more than 1.145 million motorists this year for violating laws.

Moreover, compared to 2024, there has been a decrease of 32 percent in the number of deaths due to resisting robbery, and 30 percent in the number of injuries due to resisting robbery.

Odho informed the media that there has been a decrease of 16 percent in mobile phone snatching incidents, 20 percent in vehicle snatching incidents, and 9 percent in vehicle theft incidents.

Out of the 53 cases of deaths due to resisting robbery, the accused were traced in 70 percent of the cases and 11 robbers died while fighting with the police, while 52 were arrested. He said that out of the 189 cases of injuries due to resisting robbery, the accused were traced in 65 percent of the cases and 5 robbers were killed while fighting with the police, while 158 were arrested.

He added that suspects in 49 percent of general robberies, 55 percent of house robberies and 58 percent of other robberies were arrested, while a total of 2,452 suspects were arrested in robbery cases, while 62 suspects were killed in police encounters. The city police chief also noted that during the anti-crime operation, police teams clashed with robbers 611 times, as a result of which 94 robbers were killed, 626 arrested in injured condition and 2,732 suspects were caught red-handed.

The police have recovered a total of 3,948 weapons of various types so far this year, including 16 SMGs, 3,834 pistols, 74 rifles and 24 shotguns. Seventeen hand grenades have also been seized.

Odho said the Anti-Vehicle Lifting Cell police have arrested 212 car lifters and 1,859 motorcycle lifters, while six car lifters have been killed and 23 injured while fighting with the AVLC police.

The AVLC police arrested eight highly skilled suspects, including the leader of an inter-provincial car lifting gang, who were involved in stealing or snatching 3 to 4 vehicles in different areas of the city on a daily basis. The suspects would take these vehicles to a workshop in the municipality where they would cut, weld and punch these vehicles and declare them non-customs and sell them in KP and Balochistan, besides Karachi.

Among the eight suspects arrested, assistant police officer Ayaz Jamil was involved in assisting the suspects, who facilitated the removal and sale of these vehicles out of the city.

Odho said the police arrested 1,213 drug peddlers on the information of the Special Branch in the crackdown on drug trafficking, while during the current year, the police had arrested a total of 6,346 drug peddlers and registered 5,149 cases.

Odho said that this year, 1,145,706 vehicles were challaned for violating traffic rules, including 66,394 heavy vehicles. Strict action against traffic rules is inevitable, and as a result of these actions, there was a 39 percent reduction in deaths and injuries in traffic accidents in August.