Police detain two brothers for facilitating cash van robbery

Police officials investigating what might be the country’s biggest robbery of the year claimed to have taken two suspects into custody for facilitating the driver who allegedly made off with a security company’s van carrying Rs205 million a fortnight ago.

Officials said the detained suspects are brothers and own the hi-roof used to move the Rs205 million from the cash van. Police have also impounded the brothers’ vehicle. Officials said the detained brothers Asad Ali and Naimat Ali had handed over their vehicle to their brother-in-law Zulfiqar. Police believe Zulfiqar and the prime suspect Hussain Shah have left Karachi and escaped to the northern parts of the country.

The Mithadar police had registered FIR No. 280/21 under Section 408/34 on the complaint of Shaikh Shoaib, regional manager operations of the Security Organising System (SOS) Pakistan, against company driver Shah and his accomplices.

The complainant said he had been an employee of SOS for the past 11 years, adding that on August 6, Rs200 million was given by Al Falah Bank’s II Chundrigar Road branch, and that the amount had arrived at the SOS branch office on Tariq Road.

The FIR reads that cash van driver Shah, CC Muhammad Saleem and ACC Nadeem had left the branch with Rs200 million of Al Falah Bank to deposit it to the State Bank of Pakistan on August 9.

One more cash van was dispatched to Al Falah Bank’s head office on II Chundrigar Road at around 9am that day. They deposited 13 sealed cash bags, and during this Saleem also took four cash boxes inside the bank, but the bank returned the bags, so he again put them into the vehicle.

Saleem again went inside the bank to take the cash, the bank gave him Rs5 million to be deposited in the bank’s West Wharf branch, so after putting Rs5 million into the vehicle, he again went inside the bank to take a receipt, and when he returned from the bank, he found that both the cash vans had disappeared.

Besides all the cash, the driver and his accomplices also made off with two pistols, a repeater, and a camera and DVR system installed in the vehicle. When Saleem phoned Shah, the driver said he would be there shortly, but he did not return. Later, Saleem informed the bank about the disappearance of the driver and the cash van.

The driver’s mobile phone was switched off when the bank staff tried calling him. The vehicle was later found parked in Miskeen Gali in the old city area with the help of the vehicle tracker. The driver, cash, weapons, camera and DVR — all were missing from the van.

Police have already questioned the driver’s father, who said he and his family do not have any ties with the man because the family had kicked him out of the house some six months ago. Police said the prime suspect hails from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Investigators said that only two staff members were present with the driver, adding that they believe the driver had executed the robbery on the basis of prior planning. They said the prime suspect had been a security guard at the company for the past one year.

Police said the company’s procedure of moving cash was wrong and the strength was also too short. They said the company’s recruitment process for hiring security guards was also wrong, since the driver himself had brought in a verification form and submitted it to the company.