Major haul: Weapons being brought to Karachi in inter-city buses
The Crime Investigation Department arrested seven suspects, including a member of the Police Foundation on Monday, for being involved in supplying arms and ammunition to various groups in the city.
The announcement of the arrest was made at a high-level press conference headed by Additional Inspector General CID Ghulam Shabbir Sheikh and CID DIG Mushtaq Mahar.
Sheikh said a huge cache of arms, including an LMG, rocket launcher, two RPGs, seven Kalashnikovs, 10 hand grenades, 10 repeater rifles, six TT pistols and 20,000 rounds of ammunition for AK-47s was seized from the suspects. The illegal weapons were brought all the way from Darra Adam Khel and were concealed in inter-city buses in use by the smugglers.
A Suzuki pick-up van that was used by the Police Foundation as one of its mobiles was also confiscated from the suspects.
The suspects, Naqeebullah Diyar Khan, Agha Kamal Hussain, Syed Mohammad Imran, Asif Khan, Javaid Sher Mohammad, Mujib Payodin and Aftab Ali were caught in a police raid on one of their hideouts near the Northern Bypass near Lucky Pahari, Mauripur.
The suspects would receive their supply from two main smugglers Gul Rehman and Manzoor based in Darra Adam Khel. Rehman is said to be one of the leading arms manufacturers up-country, while Manzoor is said to be responsible for supplying arms all over the country. The bus driver Mujib would then conceal the weapons in his vehicle and bring them all the way to Karachi. Rehman and Manzoor remain at large.
DIG Mahar said arms smuggling is a multi-billion rupee business in the city. The seven suspects apprehended by the CID would supply arms to all groups, including terrorists such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, target killers affiliated with political parties, and criminal gangs.
AIG Shiekh said Javaid Sher Mohammad was affiliated with the police foundation in Hyderabad and he used official mobile vans. He said the police force was keeping an eye out for all such rogue personnel and anyone found to be involved in illegal activities, no matter which institution, would be arrested.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 2nd, 2011.
COMMENTS (5)
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@Ammar: hahha another Indian with ISI phobia. Have u even been to pak ? the only check points are Tolls and run by Police not by ISI. They dont check busses anyway
Those who selling these in Karachi first create a market through sectarian and poliical based violance. Those who responsible in such violance are land mafia, mullahs, politicians, and peddlers of weapons and drugs. The citizens are victims and they are also responsible for buying it and using it. Don;t blame each other, blame yourself and then govt.
And you blame it all on MQM, wow!!
@Ammar Well said. No weapons are manufactured in Karachi. Their source is known to everybody. If government willing to stop violence in Karachi it can. Just increase search at security posts particularly both sides of the Attock Bridge on river Indus. Warning be given to all the security posts from Darra Adam Khail, Bara, Chaman and karachi that if any arms or drug smuggling happened then stern action would be taken against the personnel responsible to maintain security at these posts.
Yes, but how about all those checkposts that fall between Darra adamkhel and Karachi? How do these smugglers manage to get pass them, especially when not one but so many security agencies man these posts? Its not just about corruption or monetary interests of these agencies in smuggling but i believe there are some other grand interests as well in terms of arming some of their own proxy forces in khi? karachitargetkilling.wordpress.com