ISLAMABAD, Sept 15: A dreaded criminal wanted for patronising kidnappings for ransom and drug trafficking was arrested by the capital police in a raid on a kiosk in the rural area on Thursday.

Commander Syeed Wali was traced out by the signals of a cellphone that he had snatched from a kidnapped boy, handed to him for safe custody while the kidnappers collected ransom and shared it with Wali.

According to the sources, Commander Syeed Wali headed a five-member group of abductors and allegedly involved in a number of kidnapping for ransom incidents. The sources said that he also provided hideouts to the kidnapping groups including the militants to keep their preys till they received the ransom. He has several houses in Dara Adam Khail and Adezai where he kept the victims either kidnapped by his group or others.

He took share from the ransom for keeping the kidnapped victims of other gangs.

Moreover, he also operated narcotics smuggling gang and smuggled drugs to Islamabad and Punjab.Commander Syeed Wali was spotted by the Shalimar police officials as he had been using the mobile phone of Ali Waqar whom he kept at one of his hideouts for some days. Ali Waqar was taken to Peshawar by the security guard of the consultancy firm of his father, Waqar Zakari, on April 16. Security guard, Siraj Khan, had made him drug addict and was taken to Peshawar by him and two of his accomplices on the pretext that he would be given charas there. Later, Ali Waqar was handed over to Syeed Wali who kept him at his hideout.

On April 29, the abductors of Ali Waqar were traced and during encounter with the police, one of them was killed while two others were arrested. Despite several attempts, the kidnappers could not identify the location where the kidnapped person was kept.

Later, Ali Waqar was released as Rs6 million ransom was paid. However, Syeed Wali seized his mobile and started using it. Since he was under surveillance of the capital police through the snatched mobile phone, he was located in E-11 area on Thursday evening.

A police team under the supervision of Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Margalla circle ASP Capt (retired) Mustansar Hussain conducted a raid at a kiosk in E-11 and arrested Syeed Wali. The raid was guided by Inspector Raja Rahat, specialist in tracking people through mobile phones. The raiding team also recovered the mobile phone which he took from Ali Waqar.

Syeed Wali will be produced in the court to seek physical remand for further investigation.