Caught at last: Police arrest eight suspected criminals

The alleged extortionists used social media to gather information.

KARACHI: Karachi police claimed on Thursday to have arrested eight criminals  allegedly involved in cases of extortion, target killings and robberies.

East Zone DIG Munir Shaikh, disclosed the arrests at a press conference at the East zone SSP office. The arrested suspects include three alleged extortionists, Muhammad Khalid Baloch, Muhammad Yasin and Muhammad Noman Tahir. The accused were using the internet to make extortion calls. “They used social media to gather information about their targets and then called them through the internet,” Shaih revealed. The accused used the names of notorious Lyari gangsters to frighten their targets into paying the extortion money through Easy Paisa, Mobi Cash and Omni or direct cash, he added.

The three accused are already facing trial and were released on bail from the Anti-Terrorism Court-II. Police have seized seven mobile phones, 22 SIMs registered under fake CNICs and two TT pistols from their possession.

Separately, police have arrested two alleged target killers, Gul Hasan, alias Hassan Bhutto, and Gulla Khan, alias Gul Khan. According to Shaikh, both the suspected target killers were associated with Lyari gangs. Hassan was involved in the killings of at least 10 people, including a police official, and was wanted in a number of cases of murder, police encounters, street crimes, robberies and illegal weapons. The police have seized a snatched government-issue Kalashnikov from his possession. On the other hand, Gulla Khan was also associated with the Lyari gang war and was believed to be supplying arms to gangsters. The police have seized a Kalashnikov and two hand grenades from his possession.  Meanwhile, Shaikh claimed that the police have arrested three members of a gang who were involved in robbing houses.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 21^st, 2014.