Rs3m cash, passports stolen from four travel agencies in Saddar

A gang of burglars broke into four travel agencies in the Saddar locality on Wednesday and made off with around Rs3 million as well as bonds and passports, said the police.

Police said the travel agencies where the burglaries took place are situated on the first floor of the Jeddah Tower, which is located near the Lucky Star area in Saddar.

The officials said that the incident took place in the wee hours, but the incident came to notice after an employee of one of the travel agencies arrived at his workplace despite it being a public holiday and found the grille door broken from the outside.

Police said the employee immediately informed the owner of the travel agency, who also informed the owners of the other travel agencies. After the other owners arrived on the scene, they found the grille doors of their agencies broken as well. They then informed the police about the burglaries.

Police reached the building and inquired about the situation. They said that after breaking the grille doors with the help of cutters, the burglars entered the travel agencies, broke the lockers and stole around Rs3 million in cash as well as bonds and passports, some of which had stamped visas.

Talking about their initial findings, the officials said that the gang of burglars could have comprised more than half a dozen members, who apparently managed to reach the first floor of the building with the help of placing a ladder in the empty plot next to the building.

Experts from the forensic division of the Sindh police were also called in at the crime scene, and they recorded the fingerprints of the suspects. The owners of the travel agencies held a protest demonstration against the incident and demanded the immediate recovery of the money and other stolen items.

They also appealed to the Sindh police chief, Dr Syed Kaleem Imam, to take immediate notice of the burglaries, particularly in Saddar, as a number of similar incidents had taken place at other shops and stores in the area, with the police failing to trace and arrest the culprits. Police said that a case has been registered and further investigation is under way.