KARACHI: Police on Saturday claimed to have arrested a suspect allegedly involved in looting of lockers worth over Rs70 million of a private bank in Gulshan-i-Iqbal on May 23, 2015 and seized Rs2.7 million from him.

“The special investigation unit /crime investigation agency (CIA) police detained Khalil in Saddar, who is involved in looting of lockers of Meezan Bank,” said SIU SSP Mohammed Farooq Awan.

Gold ornaments, prize bonds, local and foreign currency worth millions of rupees were taken away from the 102 lockers, added the officer.

Speaking at a press conference at his office, the SIU officer said that the suspect along with his other accomplices namely Sardar Safeer Iqbal, the bank guard Nawab Gul, Hasan, Naseebullah, Pir Iqbal, Ali and Pir Mohammed, alias Peeru, had broken at least 102 lockers of the bank with the help of a gas cutter on the weekend. Later on, they purchased a jeep with the looted cash and went to Peshawar.

The SIU SSP estimated that the overall worth of the looted cash and other valuables was Rs70.2 million.

The suspect and his accomplices were also arrested in the Habib Bank lockers looting case in Naushehra in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the recent past. This group’s ring-leader was Safeer Iqbal, the officer added.

Khalil hailed from Hayatabad in Peshawar and is a property agent. He got Rs6 million in share in the robbery out of which, the police seized recovered Rs2.7 million from him.

He came from Peshawar to get his arrested accomplice and relative Naseebullah in the same case (FIR 306/2015) released on bail when he was detained by the police.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2015

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