January 09, 2008	Wednesday	Zilhaj 29, 1428

KARACHI, Jan 8: The local police authorities have engaged the federal intelligence agencies to help investigate major robberies and bank heists as the law-enforcers find themselves clueless about the phenomenal surge in the incidents during the last two months. The total amount stolen from various financial institutions over this period has been said to be more than Rs170 million.

Sources in the police department said a formal request had already been sent to the higher authorities, which had given their nod for such assistance. Similarly, they said, the role of the intelligence agencies had been defined while engaging their personnel with the police officials.

“The request came as one of the major moves to put a cap mainly on bank robberies and investigate the causes and culprits behind such daredevil moves, which forced the police high-ups to take the initiative,” said a source close to the proposal.

He said the police were more willing to make the intelligence officials part of their team and assist them in a way that recognized their expertise and methods of inquiry.

“The police have a proper and regular intelligence system like the Special Branch and CID (Crime Investigation Department),” said the source. “But spies working under these two arms of the police remain more engaged with the assigned tasks in line with the mandates of the two departments, which do not allow them to look into such crimes, nor are they capable of investigating the recent trend of robberies.”

He said the Special Branch normally looked after political activities while the CID focused on terrorism while spying. The shortage of staff and lack of expertise further encouraged the authorities to look towards the federal intelligence agencies, added the source.

The city has recently witnessed a sharp rise in bank robberies, attacks on vehicles carrying cash of different institutions and successful attempts from robbers to deprive money changers of millions of rupees.

The incidents have not only cost millions of rupees but have also exposed the skills of the police force. Heists over the past two months have also claimed some half a dozen lives, including four policemen, who attempted to challenge the armed robbers.

A senior official, confirming the local police’s plans about acquiring the assistance of federal agencies, however, explained that the intelligence officials would not investigate the cases but assist the local law-enforcers.

“They (intelligence agencies) have certain expertise in such kinds of cases, which is required to investigate robbery cases properly,” said Azhar Ali Farooqi, the Capital City Police Officer (CCPO).

Without explaining the current status of the investigations, he said that cooperation between the intelligences agencies and the police was being maintained.

“We need only their cooperation, as investigations solely are the responsibility of the local police,” added the CCPO. “The cooperation we need consists of determining the criminals’ addresses through different sources like mobile phone communications and other facts.”

The robbery on Sunday of more than Rs150 million from a local exchange company was orchestrated by a couple of its security guards, who made off with foreign currencies that were being brought to its office from different cities in Punjab.

Though the intelligence agencies’ assistance has been sought for investigations of the bank robberies, the police sources believed they would also prove helpful to local detectives in tracing other kinds of robberies too.