LAHORE - The CIA police busted a gang of alleged extortionists using the name of a Karachi-based political party, the CIA sources revealed on Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference, SSP (Investigation) Abdur Rab Ch claimed that the CIA arrested 24 members of a gang, headed by two engineers, and recovered Rs10 million cash and valuables. He said that the accused wrote letters to industrialists and other wealthy profiles on the letter head of Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) and demanded huge funds from them.
The police officer added that the accused were well-trained and professional criminals. They robbed the house of Mazhar-ul-Haq, SHO Jhang bazaar Faisalabad, before kidnapping his wife and daughter. After receiving Rs3 million as ransom, they freed the captives, the SSP informed.
The gang’s profile also includes looting the SHO Samanabad Lahore, Rs4.6 million ransom from Pearl Gas Agency owner and millions of rupees from other citizens of Nishtar colony and Kahna, according to the sources.
The SSP said that the ringleaders Afzal and Imran were qualified Software and Mechanical engineers. He said that their modus operandi was sending bullets in envelopes to rich people, demanding extortion in the name of MQM and threatening them of dire consequences.
In their last attempt they demanded Rs2 millions from Muhammad Tariq, owner of Shafi Industries, for which a case was registered with Quaid-e-Azam Industrial area police station. Investigation was assigned to the CIA and a team traced the accused very tactfully and arrested them. The police team also recovered mobile phones, Sim cards and letter pads of the MQM.
During preliminary investigation, the accused confessed to a number of bids, wherein they extorted millions of rupees from rich.
Excluding the ringleaders, the arrested gang members included Hafiz Ashraf, Ramzan alias Jani, Ajmal Traiq, Imran, Sajid, Haseeb Tabish, Umar Afzal, Liaquat alias Baba, Ateeq-ur-Rehman alias Baqi, Tanveer, Fiaz alias Mama, Kamran, Amanat alias Iqbal, Arshad Bhoog, Liaquat Ali, Sharafat Ali, Muhammad Ahmad alias Ali, Muhammad Nadeem, Ghaffar alias Mama Kali, Sajid Ali, Shahid alias Iqbal, Allah Wasaya alias Gogi, Muhammad Shafeq and Sahkeel.
The gang confessed to have targeted the areas of DHA, Garden Town, South Cantt, Iqbal Town, Satto Kattla, Green Town, Kahna, Township, City Raiwind, Muslim Town, Wahdat Colony and Ghalib Market.
Ch said that the CIA also arrested four accused including two women who had got job at Deputy Attorney General of Pakistan, Azer Lateef residence. Then with the help of other fellows they looted the family members of Azer. They were named as Muzzamal Akhtar, Haider Ali , Saima alias Asma and Fatima.