‘Getaway car providers’ in Rs200m cash van heist remanded

Special team formed to probe robbery, cops claim new leads

KARACHI:

A local court granted three-day physical remand of two suspects, allegedly involved in facilitating the main accused of a cash van heist, to the police on Tuesday.

Mithadar Police produced both the arrested suspects, Naimat Ali and Asad Ali, before the South judicial magistrate for their alleged involvement in the theft of Rs200 million from the cash van of a bank.

The investigation officer of the case informed the court that the arrested suspects are accused of providing the getaway vehicle, a minivan, to the main suspects to transfer the looted money.

The driver and security guards of a private security firm had stolen the cash they were supposed to safely deliver from one bank branch to another.

The IO requested the court for granting physical remand of the suspects for further investigation and arrest of the absconding suspects. The court while accepting the plea, granted three-day physical remand of the suspects.

Cash transfer details surface

Police sources told The Express Tribune that the getaway minivan providers, Naimat Ali and Asad Ali, have told the interrogators that the suspects had taken their vehicle 'to go on a picnic'.

The owners of the white high-roof minivan used in the crime told the police they had no idea that it would be used in a theft.

Sources said that according to the investigation, the absconding driver of the private security company, Hassan Shah, had taken the cash van to the basement of a building in Miskeen Gali where the cash was shifted to the white high-roof minivan.

Read More: Rangers, police arrest robbery suspects

Hassan and his accomplice came out of the basement with both the vehicles, but abandoned the cash van on the Molvi Tamizuddin Khan Road.

Hassan drove the high-roof along with his accomplices toward Gulistan-e-Johar through Railway Colony and other areas. Police said the suspect further shifted the money to other places before leaving town with the looted money.

According to the police investigators, at least three other suspects aided the main accused in carrying out the crime. The police officials, however, claimed that they had come very close to the suspects and would arrest them very soon.

Two alleged facilitators of the main accused are on three-day physical remand who, during interrogation, disclosed that the main suspect had obtained the minivan from them on the pretext of going on a picnic.

Meanwhile, a special team has been formed to solve the cash van heist case.

The six-member team, comprising officers of operations and investigation departments, will be headed by two DSPs. DSP Darakhshan, SHO and SIO Mithadar are also part of the investigation team. The investigation officer of the case, DSP investigation and an official of the IT department are also part of the team.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25^th, 2021.