Honey-trapping temptress arrested, say police

Suspect confesses to luring men to rural towns to get them kidnapped

KARACHI:

Honey traps are an age-old phenomenon often mentioned in James Bond films and spy novels, but few such ruses have been set in the subcontinent, and even fewer in Sindh. However, Sindh police's Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) have arrested a woman who allegedly worked for dacoits of a katcha area to honey trap men on the pretext of marriage, friendship or a relationship.

Police claimed that the suspect has confessed to luring men to a designated place in rural Sindh from where her husband's men would bundle them off to the riverine forest hideout of dacoits. The woman identified herself as Tania Shar, also known as Hina Khan or Hina Baloch, wife of Budyal Khan Shar, a dacoit of the katcha area.

During the arrest, police recovered a mobile SIM from her, which was used to set the trap for unsuspecting victims. Interestingly, the SIM was sent to her in Karachi from Kashmore via a courier company.

AVCC SSP Anil Haider told The Express Tribune that Ayaz Muhammad, a resident of Mehmoodabad, was lured to Kashmore by the accused under the guise of marriage, but unfortunately, he was kidnapped. Tania was using the SIM that she got via courier from Kashmore, the same town where Ayaz went to meet her and got kidnapped.

SSP Haider said that after making use of technical investigation methods, the police conducted a raid in Karachi's Sohrab Goth area that led to Tina's arrest. Haider was proud to claim that police utilised technical expertise to crack the case, ultimately apprehending the main accused.

The SSP said that police registered a case under Section 365 A/34 of kidnapping for ransom and handed over investigations to the AVCC. He said that police were making efforts for the safe recovery of Ayaz.

He added that the police have made substantial headway in the investigation and the arrest of more suspects was expected. However, with his wife behind bars, Shar was unlikely to go soft on the abductee.

Police said that Ayaz was not Tina's only victim. She had allegedly lured citizens from Karachi and other provinces into fake marriage traps, inviting them to locations in Sindh, including Kashmore, Kandhkot, Shikarpur, and Ghotki.

Once in their turf, the dacoits would kidnap the victims and take them to the katcha area. Police officials said that dacoits torture kidnapped men and make videos of the ordeal. The kidnappers send videos of men pleading their families to pay a ransom in exchange for their lives.