Street crime: Three suspects apprehended

Police claim to have recovered weapons and stolen goods from them

ISLAMABAD: At least three people suspected to have been involved in robberies, pickpocketing, and other street crimes around the capital have been apprehended, police said on Tuesday.

The suspects, all young men, were traced and nabbed by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of the Police. They were identified as Afzalur Rehman, Sher Hassan, and Naqeebullah.

Police said they had also recovered a stolen mobile phone, an unlicenced 30-bore pistol with five bullets, and Rs4,000 in cash from them.

Police said that Rehman was a resident of Gujranwala and was a member of a gang involved in armed robberies and snatching incidents using motorcycles in the capital. Officials added that Rehman, along with other gang members, had also robbed a milk shop in I-9 Markaz in January 2016.

The gang had also been booked by the Industrial Area police in a robbery case.

Officials said in addition to the crimes they were booked in, Rehman had confessed to several other robberies in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Gujranwala.

Sher Hassan, a resident of Dhok Kala Khan in Rawalpindi, was allegedly involved in pickpocketing in the capital. Police alleged that he stole Rs4,000 from a man in Sohan. The stolen amount has been recovered from the suspect.

Police said Naqeebullah, the third suspect, had been previously booked in a criminal case. He was arrested for possessing an unlicenced pistol, and a case has been registered against him at Tarnol police station.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 8^th, 2017.