Beyond borders: Larceny forges an unlikely bond

Multi-ethnic gang hiding in Margalla Hills.

ISLAMABAD:

When the city police apprehended three members of a gang of robbers on Monday, they could not have imagined the subsequent chain of events that were to follow. This was no ordinary gang.

The first three suspects gave up information that led to the arrest of at least 14 other gang members. They included Afghan nationals, Punjabis and Kohistanis from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

Amazingly, police believe more are on the run and raids are being conducted to bring them to justice.

“The police recovered brand new cell phones from them. They were well organised and in spite of their different ethnicities, they were
closely knit,” said a police officer.

He said the modus operandi of the gang was a unique one and their hideouts were highly unusual.

“One of their hideouts in the Maragalla Hills behind the shrine of Bari Imam was discovered by the police,” the officer added.

He said the robbers had concealed things as big as cars in their cave hideout. The police recovered a Daihatsu Charade from this location.

The path to the hideout was a very difficult one and the terrain was tough. Police had no prior knowledge of this place.

The arrested members of the gang told the police that they conducted a junkyard businesses in different areas of Islamabad.

Further investigations revealed that the junkyard businesses were being used to carry out reconnaissance of targets during the day.

“The targets were then hit at night, or, if the opportunity presented itself, in broad daylight,” police said.

To keep their gang united, the gang members turned their ‘business’ relationship into a bond of blood by intermarrying.

“A Punjabi girl was married to a Pathan, and so on,” claimed a police official, adding that the women were also involved in robberies.

A woman and her daughter, also members of the gang, were arrested and sent to jail for stealing gold from different houses.

Police said more information was likely to surface as more arrests were expected in the coming days.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 30^th, 2011.