- Suspects ran extortion ring in different areas of Karachi: SSP
- Weapons, ammunition, mobiles, gold ornaments recovered: police
- The Pakistani Sunni Tehreek condemns the raid, alleging abuse of force.
KARACHI: Karachi police arrested several suspects, including ‘extortionists’, during a raid conducted at Qadri House in Karachi’s Nazimabad late Saturday night.
SSP Dr Imran Khan, head of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) Karachi, said Jawad Qadri and Mullah Shahzeb were among the many suspects arrested. He clarified, however, that the Pakistani Sunni Tehreek leader, Sarwat Ijaz Qadri, had not been arrested, News reported.
The SSP said the arrested suspects were wanted by police in several cases because they were “running an extortion ring.” He said the arrests were made based on information provided by a previously arrested suspect named Rehan.
SSP Imran Khan said Rehan, who was involved in incidents of extortion and firing at Jamshed Quarters, was arrested earlier. Acting on their information, the police conducted a raid at the Qadri house and arrested several suspects, including Jawad Qadri alias Khawaja and Shahzeb Mullah.
According to a police official, the arrested suspects were in contact with the Samad Kathiawadi group. A large quantity of arms, ammunition, mobile phones and gold jewelry were recovered from their possession. The suspects also reportedly have criminal records. Further investigations are underway.
Meanwhile, the Sunni Pakistan Tehreek party strongly condemned the police raid on the Qadri House. Its central spokesperson declared that “the voice of truth cannot be suppressed by the use of force.”
He claimed that security cameras at the Qadri House were deliberately damaged to conceal police actions and that officials and employees of the Karachi division were arrested during the raid.
SSP Imran Khan further said that 21 accused were arrested in the last week. He added that five police clashes took place between the SIU and the suspects, during which two extortionists and three other criminals were arrested injured.
He said the arrests were part of an ongoing crackdown on extortionists and their networks operated from abroad. Cases of extortion were registered in Sukhun, Surjani, Tipu Sultan and Jamshed Quarters police stations.
SSP Khan also said that drug peddlers were arrested during the operation and nine kilograms of hashish and heroin were recovered from them.
In addition, four members of a gang involved in street crimes were arrested. He said the SIU/CIA remains actively engaged in operations against extortionists and other criminals.
