‘Bringing scrap dealers into system has halved vehicle snatching, theft incidents in West Zone’

A crackdown on scrap dealers by bringing them into the system has resulted in a significant reduction in vehicle snatching and theft incidents in Karachi’s West Zone, with such crimes now reduced by nearly half.

This was revealed by West Zone Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Irfan Ali Baloch in an interview with The News on Saturday. He explained that in the first 10 months of 2023, 34 vehicles were snatched and 414 were stolen from Central District. During the same period, 70 motorcycles were snatched, while 10,189 were stolen. According to Irfan Ali Baloch, a total of 12,309 vehicles were lost by citizens in these 10 months.

He further stated that most of the stolen vehicle parts were sold in the market, while other car parts or motorcycle chassis were sold to Steel Mills through scrap dealers. Following directives from the Sindh IGP to take strict action against scrap dealers, a large-scale crackdown was launched against hundreds of scrapyards in West Zone. These scrap dealers were brought into the system, and dozens of them were arrested. Police also began monitoring suspicious scrapyards. As a result, these dealers no longer had the opportunity to pack stolen vehicles or sell their parts.

Irfan Baloch reported that in the first 10 months of the current year, 22 four-wheelers were snatched, and 205 were stolen. In the same period, 1,079 motorcycles were snatched, and 4,658 were stolen. In total, citizens lost 5,964 vehicles, a sharp decrease compared to the 12,309 vehicles lost in the same period last year. He added that the police were taking further steps to address the issue.