Peshawar   -   City division police have arrested nine gangsters and also recovered 15 motorcycles and 29 mobile phones that the gang had snatched from citizens during robberies in the provincial capital.

The accused also confessed to have lifted the car of a lawyer from the Peshawar High Court while one of them used to sell the stolen phones in the nearby Afghanistan.

Addressing a news conference, SP City Attique Shah said that after some incidents, he formed a team comprising SHOs of Bhanamarhi, Agha Mir Jani Shah, Paharipura, Gulbahar and Pandu police stations.

The team traced the gangsters and arrested nine persons who confessed to involvement in robberies. The cops also recovered 15 motorbikes, 21 mobile phones and Kalashnikov and pistols from the possession of the arrestees.

The official said that owners were being contacted to return them their stolen motorbikes and phones.

An official said that on the directive of IGP Moazzam Jah Ansari, the CCPO Ijaz Khan and SSP Operations Haroon Rasheed have started monitoring the police officers in various divisions of Peshawar in the wake of recent crimes and SHOs of various police stations have been directed to improve policing or face punishment.