SIU arrests four men ‘for planning bank heist’

The Special Investigation Unit of the Karachi police has claimed to have arrested four men for allegedly planning to conduct a bank robbery in the metropolis.

Acting on a tip-off, SIU personnel conducted a raid in Gulistan-e-Jauhar on Tuesday and arrested the suspects, identified as Noorul Hassan, Ashur Ali, Hashmat Hassan and Shaukat Ali.

Police said eight other members of this gang -- Nasir, Syed Ali Hussain, Alam Khan, Abdullah, Rauf, Mir Haider, Aqil and Salik – had already been arrested in the past with weapons, hand grenades and 10 kilograms of drugs.

During the initial course of interrogation, the four said they had recently arrived in Karachi and contacted Hashmat, an absconding member of Najamul Hassan alias Ajmal’s gang of criminals. They said they were planning to break the lockers of a branch of a private bank in the coming days.

The suspects further said that they needed help with holding a security guard hostage and gaining access to the bank located at the Rufi Shopping Centre.

The bank heist plan was allegedly made by Ashur Ali and the security guard of the bank, Najamul Hassan. A case has been registered and further investigations are underway.