LAHORE: The Anti-Corruption Establishment on Thursday arrested four officials of the Dolphin Force for allegedly setting a drug peddler free after accepting bribe.

ACE Punjab Deputy Director (law) Rana Ehsan told Dawn that four Dolphin Force officials -- Shahbaz Salim, Muhammad Afzal, Muhammad Shahbaz and Muhammad Aamir -- had been arrested for allegedly taking bribe from a drug peddler.

He said a case against the suspects had been registered in the Faisal Town police station under sections 161 and 155 of Pakistan Penal Code and 5/2/47-A of Anti-Corruption Establishment Act.

“Police handed over the suspects to ACE after registration of the FIR as the matter falls in the domain of the ACE,” Mr Ehsan said, adding the suspects were presented before a magistrate who remanded them into ACE custody for two days.

He said ACE Assistant Director Chaudhry Maqbool Ahmed would investigate the matter.

The act of the ‘street crime fighters’ has invited wide criticism since the Punjab government has been making tall claims, portraying Dolphin Force as a “corruption-free” squad.

The four-member team of the Dolphin Force had stopped a man, Qaiser, in Faisal Town area some days back and during questioning they came to know that he was a drug peddler. However, the cops let him off the hook after taking bribe.

The drug peddler was later nabbed by police and during interrogation he revealed that Dolphin Force cops had arrested and then released him after taking Rs20,000.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2016