KARACHI: Police on Tuesday claimed to have solved the recent Rs300 million cash van heist by recovering Rs200 million cash and arresting the main suspect, who they said is a member of an inter-provincial gang involved in multiple bank robberies across the country.

West DIG Irfan Ali Baloch said that along with the stolen cash, police also took into custody two luxury vehicles used in the robbery.

The cash van robbery had taken place on June 12 within the remit of the Jauharabad police. The cash was being transported to a private bank when the robbers intercepted the security crew and looted the money. A member of the crew, Wajid Mir, was also suspected of having been involved in the heist.

Speaking at a press conference at his office, DIG Baloch said the held suspect, Mohammed Ali alias Ali Langra, was the mastermind behind the Rs300m robbery and the ringleader of an inter-provincial gang involved in over two dozen bank robberies.

The arrested suspect told police that he had planned the cash van heist and had hidden the looted cash at two separate houses.

Police said the gang comprised more than a dozen members who had been involved in over two dozen bank robberies in major cities across Pakistan. The arrested suspect and his accomplices had allegedly carried out robberies in Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Quetta and Multan.

The suspect originally hails from Swat and has been living in Karachi for a long time. He owns four bungalows in Karachi and has three wives. Other suspects belonged to the Parachinar and Kurram areas and had taken away the remaining looted cash.

The DIG said that the gang had got Wajid Mir recruited at the security company to help execute the robbery. According to the officer, the company had appointed Wajid as chief crew without conducting adequate background checks. After facilitating the robbery, Wajid had fled to Parachinar.

Police said the held suspect also had a criminal record, with several FIRs registered against him in Rawalpindi and at different police stations in Karachi between 2014 and 2021. He had also been arrested several times in both Karachi and Rawalpindi before being released on bail.

The West police chief said that the case was solved by a special police team led by Central SSP Dr Mohammed Imran Khan.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2026