Turbat incident: Five die as smugglers clash over loot

Bloody fight involved two drug gangs

QUETTA: At least five people were killed on Friday in an exchange of fire between two groups near Zaman area of Kech district, police sources said on Friday.

They said a scuffle broke out between the two groups, which led to an exchange of fire, killing five people on the spot. Later, police and security forces reached the spot and dispersed the members of the two groups, they added.

Three of the victims were identified as Shah Dad, Ismail, and Nawaz while the identity of two other decreased persons could not be ascertained immediately. Police shifted the bodies to nearby hospitals for identification and legal formalities. Sources said that all the victims belong to Panjgur district.

Kech Deputy Commissioner Major (retd) Bashir Ahmed said: “Bloody armed clash took place between two groups of smugglers”. According to sources, the clash happened on dispute over looting of drugs of one group.

Levies and Frontier Corps personnel reached the site after receiving information about the fight and shifted the bodies to district headquarter hospital. Further investigation was under way.

In another incident in the same district, armed men gunned down a man in a drive-by shooting in Shapak area. Police said the body was handed over to the family of the deceased after completing the legal formalities.