CTD cop among seven arrested for kidnapping trader, stealing cryptocurrency worth Rs90 million’

As Karachi continues to struggle with an unrelenting wave of street crime, the city's police force is trying to rebrand itself through the slogan of public service but these efforts are not bearing any fruit as every now and then such criminal cases emerge, in which the primary suspects are cops.

In many such cases, the police’s hand—whether explicit or covert—is evident. And then there are some days when the very enforcers of the law are caught red-handed in criminal acts themselves.

Although there is a general impression that police are involved in organised crimes, recent cases suggest their focus has expanded to include more lucrative targets. A trend has emerged that criminal policemen have been targeting individuals linked to IT companies, software houses, call centres, cryptocurrency businesses and online gambling.

Often disguised in civilian clothes or uniforms, police officers conduct these operations—mostly under the cover of night — by abducting their victims, detaining them in police mobiles or holding them at undisclosed locations.

Victims are subjected to intimidation, threats and even torture, forcing them to hand over cash or transfer large sums of money into various accounts controlled by the perpetrators.

One such incident occurred recently in Karachi’s Manghopir area. A businessman involved in cryptocurrency was abducted in a police mobile and held for a short period. The kidnappers coerced him into transferring hundreds of thousands of USDT (cryptocurrency) —equivalent to approximately 90 million Pakistani rupees—into their accounts.

The victim was later released after the criminals emptied his accounts. The incident took place on December 25 and an FIR was filed at the Manghopir police station on December 27. Following this, the investigation was handed over to the Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC).

The case was later brought to light by the media that reported that the AVCC police had conducted raids and arrested seven suspects involved in the crime while other suspects are yet to be arrested.

A cryptocurrency trader, Arsalan Iqbal, resident of North Karachi, filed an FIR No948/24 at the Manghopir police station under the sections 365A and 34, alleging a harrowing incident involving kidnapping and extortion by individuals impersonating as police officers. According to the complaint, Iqbal operated his cryptocurrency business from an office in a residential society in Manghopir. As per the FIR, about 15 to 20 days before the incident, a man named Hammad contacted him, seeking to buy dollars.

Iqbal clarified that he did not deal in dollar trading, but Hammad persistently contacted him for 10 to 15 days. Hammad later reached out to Iqbal’s friend, Zohaib, in an attempt to proceed with the deal. On the night of December 24, at around 10pm, three individuals visited Iqbal’s office, introducing themselves as Muzammil, Hammad, and a third person whose name the complainant could not recall.

The cryptocurrency trader told them he did not have dollars at the moment but could arrange them through a friend. The visitors made a video of the dollars on his phone and sent it to someone and asked to buy $30,000. When Arsalan asked for payment in exchange of $30,000, they delayed for about 45 minutes, eventually claiming that their friend Ashar would arrive with the payment. They then moved to a teashop within the residential society, where three individuals arrived in an Alto car around 1am, introducing themselves as Ashar, Muzammil and Zaman.

However, when Iqbal pressed Ashar for payment, Ashar made excuses and pretended to speak on the phone at a distance. At approximately 1:40am, a police mobile without a number plate arrived. Five men in police uniforms exited the vehicle and abducted Iqbal and Ashar, blindfolding them. They were taken near the FIA office in Saddar where the abductors forced Iqbal to unlock his Binance cryptocurrency account.

The FIR reads that the criminals transferred $340,000, approximately Rs90 million, from Iqbal’s account to multiple other accounts. They also took all the cash Arsalan had with him and reset his mobile phone before returning it.

Afterward, they dumped Arsalan near the Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum and fled the scene. The ordeal ended at around 4am, after which Iqbal took a rickshaw home. Following consultations, he decided to file an FIR regarding the incident.

After the AVCC initiated investigations, six private individuals named in the FIR and one policeman from the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Sindh police have so far been arrested.

It is important to note that this is not the first case where Karachi police or specialised units of the Karachi and Sindh Police — particularly CTD and Specialised Investigation Unit (SIU) — have been found involved in criminal activities. Previously, dozens of officials and personnel from Karachi's CTD and SIU have been arrested for their involvement in short-term kidnappings and robberies.

Unfortunately, while one case after another showing police’s involvement in criminal activities emerges, there appears to be no visible system in place to prevent such incidents. When CTD DIG Asif Aijaz Shaikh was contacted regarding recent involvement of CTD personnel in short-term kidnappings, he stated that departmental action would be taken and criminal penalties imposed on such cops.

The AVCC chief, SSP Anil Haider, who has been dealing with the case told The News that the technical job in Iqbal’s kidnapping was carried out by private individuals, and the role of the police had not been fully defined yet. As of now, the police's involvement appears to be limited to facilitation.

“The investigation into this case came to us on January 1, after which we started working on it, and we have arrested six private persons. We are still in the initial stages of the investigation, but it can be said with certainty that the entire planning and execution of the crime was carried out by private individuals,” said the officer.

SSP Haider stated that this was a very technical matter, and contrary to reports suggesting the transfer of US dollars, that was not the case. Instead, it was cryptocurrency, specifically USDT, which is almost equivalent to US dollars, he explained.

The SSP said the amount involved was approximately 300,000 USDT, which the criminals transferred from Iqbal’s mobile account to their own accounts. While the exact amount in Pakistani rupees could not be determined, it was estimated to be around Rs 90 million.

In response to a question about similar cases that had occurred in the past in which police personnel were found involved in extorting Pakistani money or dollars from individuals involved in call centres or other similar businesses, SSP Haider explained that this was the first case of its kind involving cryptocurrency, and as of now, cryptocurrency was not illegal in Pakistan.

In previous cases, the complainants themselves were often not very proactive in pursuing the case, as they themselves were often involved in illegal activities, he explained. “In this case, everything is recorded. We have recovered the criminals' mobile phones, which show all the online transactions. We have also identified the individuals in the police mobile footage,” he said.

The officer added that it could be said with certainty that the police personnel involved in this case were not high-ranking officers but rather constables and drivers, who had been identified. He asserted that those cops would be punished accordingly.

When asked what action should be taken to stop police’s involvement in such cases, SSP Haider responded that he would only say that the relevant authorities responsible for such matters should take action.