KARACHI - A group of culprits, who used to loot citizens through a sale/purchase website ‘OLX’, was busted in a joint raid by Federal Investigation Agency and Citizens Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) on Friday.
The group was involved in uploading fake or bogus advertisement of cars for sale on OLX.
The group has five members including Azam Rehman Butt, Irfan Bashir, Muneer Khan and others who used ads on OLX to get into contact with the cars’ buyers.
An official of the Cybercrime Circle of the FIA when contacted said the CPLC received complaints which were forwarded to the FIA for further action. Later, the FIA’s Cybercrime Circle traced them with the bank’s footage and a bank account. FIA officials said they were arrested during separate raids. Two of them were arrested during a raid in Korangi, two from Surjani and one from Liaquatabad.
FIA officials said the gang belonged to Punjab and was operating in Karachi from the last one year. They cheated hundreds of people in a year. “They (gang members) used to demand cheap prices of cars which definitely attracted the people towards them,” said the FIA spokesperson. “They took the buyer to any car showroom in the city and used to make deals with them by demanding low prices as compared to the market rates. After finalising the deal, they just took 10 to 20 per cent down-payment and then vanished.” The officials further said that while dealing with the buyers, they exposed themselves the owners of the showrooms but even the showroom owners do not know what they are doing there and later the buyers demanded the car or return of the money from the showroom owners. Cases against them were registered. Further investigation is underway.
Moreover, law enforcement agencies claimed to have busted a gang of militants and recovered an explosive-laden vehicle from their possession.
A six members gang of the militants was arrested during an overnight raid conducted on a tip-off at their hideout in Rizvia locality. District Central SSP Muqaddas Haider said the raid was conducted on a tip-off about the terrorists planning to carry out a major terror activity in the city.
SSP Haider said the arrests were made after an exchange of fire. One policeman was also wounded during an exchange of fire with the militants. The injured cop was taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for treatment where doctors termed his condition stable.
The arrested militants were later identified as Syed Alam, Syed Ahmed, Syed Amin, Muzaffar, Nasir Adil and Islamuddin. SSP Haider said the arrested militants belonged to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan while a local commander of TTP was also among the arrested militants.
Police also claimed to have recovered an explosive-laden motorcycle, hand grenades and ammunition from their possession. The bomb disposal squad was also called at the site to defuse the bomb. According to BD experts, the explosive material weighed around five kilogrammes.
It was placed in the petrol tank of the motorcycle and a mobile phone device was attached to it. They suggested that the bomb could be exploded with the help of a mobile phone. The suspects were shifted to undisclosed location for further questioning. Police officials said they were trying to get information about their possible targets and they prepared an explosive-laden motorcycle to implement their plans. Cases are registered against them. Further investigation is underway.