24 muggers arrested in 15 encounters, claim police

Police arrests 788 suspects of different crimes in a weeklong series of raids conducted in East, West, and South Zones

KARACHI:

As many as 24 suspected muggers have been arrested, 14 of them in an injured condition, in 15 encounters during a weeklong raids as part of the ongoing anti-crime drive in the metropolitan city.

One suspected robber was also killed in one of these encounters.

Sixteen illegal weapons of different bores and nine motorcycles were seized from the street criminals, which were subsequently sent for forensic analysis, according to a Karachi police spokesperson.

Regarding other criminals, he added that police arrested a total of 788 suspects in a weeklong series of raids conducted in East, West, and South Zones of Karachi. The raids also led to the recovery of over 35kg of hashish, heroin, ice, crystal, and 54 liquor bottles.

More than 121 different types of illegal weapons and ammunition were also confiscated from street criminals involved in incidents such as looting from citizens.

Moreover, police recovered 54 stolen motorcycles and four vehicles in separate operations across the city.

Read CM goes hard on police for alarming rise in street crimes

Street crimes menace metropolis

The metropolis reported 7,185 street crime incidents, with only 43 of 189 stolen vehicles and 224 of 4,724 snatched motorbikes recovered in November.

The surge in car and motorcycle theft persisted, revealing a lack of adequate measures by police stations and special units.

During November, car lifters stole 26 high-value cars, and motorcycle lifters took 694 bikes. Additionally, 163 vehicles and 4,030 motorcycles were stolen from residences, parking areas, and markets. Muggers targeted citizens, robbing 2,272 mobile phones.

The Citizen Police Liaison Committee disclosed November's crime statistics, noting 189 gunpoint vehicle thefts, with only 43 recovered, and 4,724 motorcycle thefts, with only 224 recovered. Only 25 mobile phones snatched from citizens were retrieved. The report also highlighted two kidnapping-for-ransom cases, thirteen extortion incidents, and 52 fatalities from murders and vandalism in November.