KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court on Saturday remanded eight suspects including two policemen to jail in a case pertaining to the kidnapping of a crypto trader, who had paid digital coins worth $340,000 for his release from captivity.

After the end of their physical remand, the investigating officer (IO) again produced the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) constables Ali Sajad and Muhammad Umer, along with Haris Ashar, Mohammed Rizwan Shah, Noman Riffat, Tariq Hasan Shah, Muzamil Raza and Umer Jilani before the court.

The court sent them to prison on judicial remand and directed the IO to file the investigation report as required under Section 173 (Report of police officer) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

According to the prosecutors, crypto trader Mohammad Arslan was kidnapped in a police van on Dec 25, 2024 by five men in plain clothes. They brought him near the FIA Saddar office, forcibly got opened his Binance account and transferred USD coins worth $340,000 into different digital wallets/accounts.

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2025