KARACHI: Police on Wednesday claimed to have arrested 10 men, including dealers and security personnel, for their alleged involvement in issuance of fake arms licences and weapons in the city and other parts of the country.

DIG-CIA Arif Hanif told a press conference that those arrested included five arms dealers, personnel of police, FC and government officials.

He said police got a report that a gang was involved in issuance of fake arms licences to criminals in the city. He said that as part of their strategy to trace and bust the gang, the law enforcers also got issued fake arms licences from the same people.

10 online fraudsters also arrested

“This gang had prepared thousands of fake arms licences, which were provided in Fata, Peshawar, Balochistan and other parts of the country,” he said. “This is a highly professional gang, which works underground for a considerable period of time.”

The DIG said that police constable Saeed Nawaz was also held and he told the police that he used to get details/documents of buyers from arms dealers and provided the same to the office superintendent concerned.

He said that they were also probing that how fake arms licences were verified from the National Database and Registration Authority.

The police also seized a US-made weapon brought here from Afghanistan from the custody of the held suspects.

SSP-CIA Fida Hussain Janwari told Dawn that there were at least 20 members in that gang.

The 10 held suspects were booked under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997, as police considered them as “facilitators” of terrorists.

10 suspects ‘involved in online fraud’ held

Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, on Wednesday claimed to have arrested 10 suspects allegedly involved in an online fraud.

Acting on tip-off, the paramilitary force conducted raids in Korangi, Gulshan-i-Iqbal and Surjani Town and arrested Mohammed Ibrahim, Syed Ali Atif, Irfan Bashir, Syed Shah Mir, Mohammed Naveed, Kamran, Azam Rehman, Nazarul Qadir, Munir Khan and Faizan Rafiq.

“This gang is involved in cybercrimes,” said a Rangers spokesperson.

Sharing details of the case, he said that a man, Mustafa Kamal, approached the Rangers with a complaint that he had transferred Rs1.1 million through online banking to Qadir for purchase of two cars, but the suspect switched off his mobile phone and disappeared.

The Rangers conducted an inquiry into the complaint and with the help of intelligence agencies apprehended the suspects.

During initial grilling, the suspects “confessed” to having committed online frauds on the pretext of providing cars at cheaper rates.

After receiving money through bank accounts concerned, the members of this gang switched off their phones and disappeared.

They also disclosed that they had committed fraud with over 150 people since 2008 through classified ads in newspapers and then through OLX application.

The held suspects were being handed over to the Federal Investigation Agency for further legal action.

Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2019