Rangers arrest two ‘banned outfit workers’ among 18

The Sindh Rangers have arrested 18 suspects, including alleged dacoits and extortionists, during targeted raids in the city.

A spokesman for the paramilitary force said the Rangers troops conducted an intelligence-based raid in District South where they arrested two members of a banned outfit, identified as Rasheed, alias Khan Baba, and Ismail.

During investigations, it was revealed that Rasheed hailed from Swat and he had come to Karachi to escape arrest where he joined a banned outfit and started working for its commanders, Ameer Saifullah and Salman, who were presently operating from Afghanistan.

The Rangers claimed that Rasheed extorted money from traders on the orders of his commanders. The other suspect, Ismail, was from Karachi and worked as a facilitator of the banned outfit.

The paramilitary force said the two men had on April 20, 2019, demanded Rs100,000 in extortion from a general store owner in Fareedabad, within the limits of the Mominabad police station, and attacked his shop with firearms when he refused to pay them the money. An FIR of the case was registered on the complaint of the general store owner.

On June 12, 2019, the suspects had called the owner of a ‘rent a car’ shop in Fareedabad from a foreign number and demanded Rs10 million. The second trader also refused to pay the money, after which the suspects allegedly dropped a death threat letter with a bullet at his residence. The Mominabad police registered an FIR of the case.

On August 28, 2019, the accused had threatened a scrap dealer in the Shershah market and demanded Rs10 million in extortion, which refused to pay. A case was registered over extortion.

The Rangers also claimed to have seized arms and ammunition from the suspects who were later handed over to the police for the initiation of legal proceedings.

The paramilitary force also conducted raids in Sachal Super Market, Awami Colony, Al-Falah, Khokharapar, Saddar, Civil Line and Brigade areas where they apprehended 14 suspects identified as Abdul Aziz, Shakir Khan, Sohail Bikik, Athar Illahi, Ali Raza, Usama Ali, Annuddin, Saqib Ramzan, Abdul Latif, Hassan Ali, Shahzad, Sher Muhammad, Abid and Muhammad Shahbaz.

They were allegedly involved in a number of robberies, drug peddling and street crime cases in different parts of the city.

Two suspected narcotics dealers, Zahoor Ahmed and Muhammad Kashif, were arrested by the Rangers during raids in the Brigade and Jackson areas. The paramilitary force alleged that they had been operating drug dens in their respective areas.

Airport police find lost items

The Airport police found the valuables of an Afghan national that she had misplaced at the Jinnah International Airport. Police said a complainant, Shugufta Miani, who was an Afghan national, informed them that she came to Karachi from Islamabad via PIA flight PK-309 at 9:30pm and lost her handbag that contained her passport, cash and gold ornaments at the airport.

The complaint was registered by the Airport police, following which the Airport SHO visited the Karachi airport and found her bag with the aforementioned items, which were later handed over to the passenger.