Quick action: Police arrest key suspects of cash-van robbery within 24 hours

The driver and security guards were involved in the incident.

KARACHI: The police claim to have arrested, within 24 hours of the incident, three key suspects allegedly involved in a cash-van robbery outside a bank. The police said that the private security guards hired for the van were behind the robbery.

The armed robbers had stolen more than Rs15 million from a Phoenix Security Company cash-van in Shershah on Thursday, and one of the security guards was also killed. Following the robbery, the driver drove the van some distance before it was stopped in SITE by the tracking company. The driver and the van were later taken into custody.

The incident

The van, parked outside a bank in Shershah, was about to leave with the cash when armed men riding two motorcycles appeared. There was only one security guard with the van as two of his companions had gone inside the bank at the time of the incident. The lone guard, Noor Khan, was shot dead.

Karachi AIG reveals arrests

While disclosing the case's investigation at a press conference at the Central Police Office (CPO) on Friday, Karachi AIG Ghulam Qadir Thebo said that three key suspects involved in the robbery have been arrested. The arrested men included the driver of the cash van - Rafiullah - and two others - Riaz Gul and Gul Fayyaz - while the two remaining suspects, identified as Saleem aka Fauji and Abid, are yet to be arrested.

"The van was robbed by its own security guards," Thebo revealed. "The driver of the van was immediately taken into custody on the suspicion that he was involved in the crime."

Thebo said that Rs12.3 million have been recovered, adding that the security guard killed in the incident was killed by his own companions. "They killed him and then later divided the money between themselves," Thebo explained.

These men had previously looted Rs15 million from another cash-van and had been arrested for the crime, but were given the job despite their criminal record. Replying to a question, Thebo said that an inquiry is being conducted into how they were able to join the company and if any company official is found to be involved with the robbers then he too would be arrested.

To reward the police on their quick action, along with the arrest of the robbers and the recovery of the money, Sindh IGP Ghulam Haider Jamali announced Rs1 million, Thebo announced Rs2 million and the company announced Rs3 million as reward.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2014.