Law enforcement agencies (LEAs) in Karachi detained eight kidnappers, including personnel from several state departments, local news reported on Thursday.
Colonel Sikander, Wing Commander of the Rangers, and police officials conducted a media briefing today. According to Col Sikander, the suspected thieves kidnapped a gold trader’s son from Gulshan-e-Maymar and sought a ransom of Rs20 million to release him.
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“This is the first time an offender has been apprehended using WhatsApp [messaging app]. A collaborative investigating team had been formed by the AVCC [Anti-Violent Crime Circle].”
Officials from various government departments are among the abductors who have been detained. Among the kidnappers detained are two Customs officers, two police officers, and a court employee.”
“The kidnappers had collected a ransom payment of Rs3.5 million from the gold trader’s family. They were found in possession of Rs1.97 million in cash, a motorcycle, a vehicle, and a weapon, as well as the abductee.”
“This was not the gang’s first criminal offense. The detectives tracked the crooks’ WhatsApp texts, which they used to connect with one another using the messaging software on a phone that didn’t have a SIM card.”
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“The culprits will be investigated extensively, and the information will be made public,” Col Sikander stated.
In November, the Karachi police’s Special Investigation Unit (SIU) conducted a search and detained six people suspected of being part of a “cash snatching ring.”
The raid was carried out by SIU agents on Khalid Bin Waleed Road. According to Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) SIU Arif Aziz, the accused used to rob people in Korangi, Landhi, and Lee Market.