Gang of kidnappers using ‘Afghan sims’ busted in Karachi

KARACHI: Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) unit of Sindh Police on Wednesday claimed to have to solved the case of a youth named Raheel Amin who was kidnapped for ransom earlier this year on February 6.

The AVCC has arrested three suspects named Roohullah, Mukhtar, and Naeem, said DIG Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) Amin Yousafzai while addressing a press conference.

He said that ransom amount was recovered before it was being transferred to Afghanistan, while arms and a motor vehicle used in the criminal activity was also confiscated from their possession.

He said that a call was received from Afghanistan-based number demanding a hundred million rupees in ransom for the kidnapped youth. Afterwards, a deal was struck for one million rupees for his release.

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Yousafzai said the kidnappers sent a video of the captive youth to his family members on Whatsapp, in which the victim was forced to give a false statement that his fingers has been chopped.

The family members of the victim paid ten million and one hundred thousand to the kidnappers on May 28. The payment was made in Karachi to Mukhtar, and the victim was released on May 31 at the University Road in Karachi.

Yousafzai said that suspect Naeem is also involved in attempted kidnapping of four other people including renowned trader and martial arts experts Ashraf Tai in Karachi. He is also accused of involvement in the murder of seven people including a policeman deployed at Manghopir police station.

He said that several accomplices of Naeem have been killed in various operations in Balochistan and Khyber Pakthunkhwa. However, four other accomplices of Naeem are currently still at large and efforts are being made to apprehend them.

It has been further known that a terror financing network was operating which used Afghan SIMS to give the impression that the kidnappers were based in the country, which has now been busted by the police.