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Islamabad police arrest 16-member gang smuggling stolen phones to Afghanistan

Ringleader held as dozens of high-end mobiles, weapons and bikes recovered

Naeem Asghar January 19, 2026 1 min read

PHOTO: EXPRESS

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad Police’s Robbery and Dacoity Unit (RDU) has arrested 16 members of an organised criminal gang involved in snatching high-end mobile phones, altering their IMEI numbers and selling them in Afghanistan, police said on Monday.

The arrested suspects include the gang’s ringleader.

Police said dozens of snatched mobile phones worth millions of rupees, along with motorcycles, were recovered during the operation.

SSP Operations Qazi Ali Raza said two motorcycles and five pistols along with ammunition, allegedly used in the crimes, were also seized from the suspects. He added that the accused were wanted in at least 16 cases of street crime, shop robberies and other serious offences registered in Islamabad.

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According to the SSP, the suspects confessed to carrying out multiple robberies across the twin cities and smuggling the stolen mobile phones to Afghanistan after tampering with their IMEI numbers.

“Efforts are under way to arrest other facilitators and accomplices linked to the gang,” Qazi said.

He added that Islamabad Police would continue large-scale operations against organised and active criminal gangs, warning that those involved in depriving citizens of their valuables would be dealt with strictly.

The arrests come as part of Islamabad Police’s broader effort to strengthen investigation and intelligence-led policing in the capital. In recent years, police have restructured their investigative framework by setting up specialised units to deal with organised and repeat offenders, focusing on property-related crimes, crimes against persons and vehicle theft.

The initiative also relies on centralised criminal databases, profiling of offenders and crime mapping to identify hotspots and dismantle organised networks operating across the city and its outskirts.