Kidnappers go digital, robbers stage crashes

'City of heists' sees chilling rise in abductions targeting cash

KARACHI:

A fresh case of digital currency theft during a short-term kidnapping has surfaced in the metropolis, where a young man was abducted near the airport and forced to transfer thousands of dollars from his online account.

According to police and the victim's statement, the incident occurred when the Gulistan-e-Jauhar resident was travelling in an online taxi to the airport at around 8.30pm to catch a flight to Lahore. Near the airport, the cab driver stopped to refuel when a white double-cabin pickup intercepted the vehicle.

The victim, in a video statement circulating on social media, said armed men stepped out of the vehicle, forced him out of the taxi and accused him of hitting an associate of a DIG - a claim he denied.

He said the suspects took him away in their vehicle, snatched his mobile phone and accessed his digital account, transferring $8,600 to their own account. The suspects also contacted his friends and demanded money.

The victim added that he was kept in custody for around one-and-a-half hours and subjected to mental and physical torture before being dumped in the Korangi Industrial Area late at night. He later reached home in a rickshaw.

Trader robbed of Rs2.5m

Unidentified armed men allegedly looted Rs2.5 million from a trader in a car on the newly constructed Shahrah-e-Bhutto after Shah Faisal Colony flyover, police and sources said.

The incident took place around 14 days ago when the trader, identified as Hafeezur Rehman, a resident of DHA Phase VIII, was travelling from Dawood Chowrangi Landhi towards Qayyumabad via Shahrah-e-Bhutto.

As the vehicle approached Qayyumabad, another car allegedly rammed into his vehicle from behind. Believing it to be an accident, the trader stopped and stepped out to confront the occupants. At that moment, more suspects reportedly arrived on motorcycles and held him at gunpoint.

The suspects allegedly forced the trader back into his vehicle, snatched a bag containing Rs2.5 million kept on the car's floorboard, and also assaulted him with rifle butts when he resisted, injuring him. They reportedly hurled threats and abuses before fleeing the scene.

The victim later informed the police helpline 15 and his office.