Crackdown in Capital: Crime bosses lying low as police fail to catch big fish

IHC seeks report on police action against drug, liquor and prostitution in capital

ISLAMABAD: Crime bosses, running drug and liquor cartels in the capital, seem to have taken a cue from a public announcement made by the top cop that either he will shut down all drug, liquor and prostitution dens in the city, or he will quit.

“A few weeks of lean business is better than losing the turf,” a street-savvy policeman said explaining the mentality of criminals during the crackdowns announced amid media hype.

Islamabad IG Sultan Azam Temuri was under great pressure from Islamabad High Court (IHC) where a suo moto hearing on the crime situation in the capital is currently underway.



IHC Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, during a hearing of the case last Tuesday, had remarked that 90 per cent of officers of the Islamabad Police were involved in criminal activity.



Justice Siddiqui further remarked that investigation officers keep drugs in their rooms during the day and prostitutes at the night. He added that Islamabad was becoming an ‘adda’ (den) of drugs, liquor and sex trafficking.

Appearing before the court, IG Temuri assured that he would purge his department of black sheep, even if it costs him his job.

On this, Justice Siddiqui had remarked: “There are no black sheep in police only black wolves.”

Before adjourning the hearing for a fortnight, Justice Siddiqui told IGP Temuri that people know which police officers supply liquor and drugs to politicians, religious personalities and TV anchors.

To him, the capital was becoming a sin city.



Following the hearing, IG Temuri ordered strict action against organised crime in the capital.

However, police sources told Daily Express that they have been unable to pin down large drug dealers.

All the top drug dealers have skipped town, they explained simply. On the other hand, they said that even the street peddlers have gone into hiding, police resources said while quoting a preliminary report submitted to the IGP.

The massive media coverage of IG’s announcement of resigning from his post if big fish are not captured during the court hearing had alerted the crime bosses, sources said.

Meanwhile, two raids on guest houses in Sector F-6/1 yielded the arrest of sex workers and their clients.



However, raids against bootleggers have not yielded any such success.

Sources say such is the situation at the moment that even licensed liquor shops, authorised to sell to non-Muslims, have become extra cautious.

Unable to net any big fish, police raided a poverty-stricken slum and arrested four Christian men for making moonshine.

Under pressure to produce a performance report in the court, police were holding meetings at every level to come up with a big haul before the next hearing, sources said.

They said that some officers had suggested laying hand on liquor supply network that operates from the diplomatic enclave. However, sources said, embassies notorious for selling their liquor quotas have also shut their windows for the time being.



Bad cops face action

According to a police press release issued on Thursday, IG Temuri has said that disciplinary action has been taken against 100 police officials who were involved in corrupt practices or illegal activities.

Reviewing the overall performance of the force during the last three months, he said that special campaign was launched to curb drug peddling activities and 438 drug pushers were held after registration of 389 cases against them.

He said that police recovered 122 kilogrammes of hashish, 16.5 kilogramme of heroin, 2.5 kilogrammes of opium, ice and party drugs. He said Islamabad police is an important department and effective steps are being taken by the force to ensure protection to the lives and property of the citizens.

“Owing to these efforts, there has been significant reduction in crime rate in the city while public trust has also restored on police department,” he maintained.

He said that Islamabad police is following zero tolerance policy against corruption while 100 police employees have to face disciplinary action due to their involvement in corruption or illegal activities.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 20^th, 2018.