Rs1.56b worth of hashish seized

KARACHI:

DIG East Munir Ahmed Shaikh claimed on Friday that the police have seized 7,250 kilogrammes of hashish from a truck on Rashid Minhas Road in Gulshan-e-Iqbal.

Addressing a press conference at his office, the DIG said that the hashish is worth Rs1.56 billion in the international market and Rs580 million in the local market.

SSP East Pir Muhammad Shah said that the narcotics were hidden in the cavities of the truck. He said that three accused - Muhammad Akhtar, son of Naib Khan, Hayat Muhammad, son of Muhammad Akhtar, and Akhtar Zaib, son of Muhammad Akhtar - have been arrested.

The police were monitoring the movement of the truck after receiving information from Rahim Yar Khan police, he said, adding that the accused even offered Rs80 million as bribe to the police to release the truck. The DIG said that the accused had reportedly brought the hashish to Karachi from Peshawar and were planning to smuggle it abroad. Further investigations are underway, he added.



Meanwhile, East Zone police have arrested 25 target killers, 64 dacoits, seven extortionists, 13 offenders and 102 absconders during the last month, said Shaikh. Five Kalashnikovs, 217 pistols, four shotguns and 21 grenades were also recovered from their possession, he added. Another seven bandits were killed in encounters.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 5^th, 2014.