Armed men loot jewellery store

Shop owner claims stolen jewellery was worth over Rs30m

KARACHI: Armed men looted gold jewellery worth over Rs30 million from a locker at a jewellery store in Liaquat Market, Saudabad, early Monday morning.

The suspects tied up the security guards and fled with the locker, which contained four to five kilogrammes of gold jewellery, according to Furqan Ahmed, the owner of the shop.

Furqan and other shopkeepers from the market arrived at the store after being informed about the crime and called the Saudabad police. After gathering evidence, the police took the security guard, Saleem, into custody for questioning.

Robbers loot neighbours’ houses in Karachi

Noman Ahmed, Furqan's brother, stated that they found out about the robbery at 5am. When they reached the shop, they saw that the locks had been broken and the shutter lifted, he said, adding that the seven-feet-long locker placed under the showcase was missing. He claimed that they had placed jewellery worth between Rs30 million and Rs40 million in the locker while closing the shop earlier. The jewellery belonged to the shop owner as well as his clients and employees.

According to eyewitnesses, the robbery was carried out by four or five armed men.

The Saudabad SHO said that the crime was carried out around 4am, adding that there was very little security in the market. He mentioned that there were no closed circuit cameras, adding that the six or seven security guards in Liaquat Market were elderly and did not have any weapons. He further said that Saleem, the watchman, had been taken to the police station for inquiries, after which he was released.

A case has been filed and the police are carrying out further investigations.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 10^th, 2019.