Organised crime: Two high-profile gangs busted

DIG said Rs200,000 of looted money and 20 stolen mobile phones were recovered from the accused men.

GILGIT:

Two gangs involved in looting shops and a passenger bus in Chilas earlier this month were busted by the Ghizer police on Wednesday.

One of the gangs was caught during search at a police picket in Ghizer on Tuesday night, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Ali Sher told the media in a briefing. He said that Rs200,000 of looted money and 20 stolen mobile phones were recovered from the accused men.

“This is a huge success, and we are expecting more revelations from the gang members,” he said.

He added that the bus incident was labelled by some quarters as an act of terrorism but it was in fact a highway robbery.

The second gang, which had looted two petrol pumps and nearly 20 shops in Gahkuch a couple of months back, was arrested by a special task force assigned by the Gilgit-Baltistan government.

This was the first statement given by a security official since curfew was imposed owing to some of the  worst sectarian violence in Gilgit.

The DIG said that 58 people were arrested in Gilgit for their alleged involvement in the violence.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 31^st, 2012.