KARACHI: The Karachi police on Tuesday seized five tonnes of prime quality charas worth more than Rs200 million in the international market in the Manghopir area, said to be the biggest such seizure in recent years.

A spokesman for the Sindh police said that the police team led by SSP West Younis Chandio spotted a suspicious truck on Northern Bypass moving to the city area. Sensing danger, the driver stopped the truck on the main bypass and ran away leaving the vehicle abandoned.

“The police found some 274 cartons in the truck, each carrying several kilograms of charas of high quality,” said the spokesman in a statement. “The truck and the charas were taken into custody. Later, it turned out that there was a total of 5,000kg charas, estimated to be worth Rs200m in the international market. The Sindh IG and the Karachi police chief have announced a R100,000 cash award for the police party which took part in the operation.”

Meanwhile, SSP Chandio told Dawn that the police had a “report” about the consignment arriving from Balochistan which would pass through Karachi though its final destination was not known. The police who had been patrolling the Northern Bypass for that particular consignment finally spotted the suspicious truck in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

“In recent years such a big quantity of drugs [has not been] seized,” he said. “Usually normal quality charas is sold from Rs4,000 to Rs5,000 a kilogram in the market but the [consignment] we seized is tagged at Rs40,000 a kilo. We have also found a registration document from the truck which would further help in the investigation to trace and arrest the people behind this business.”

Gangster, MQM-L men held

The Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, claimed to have arrested four suspected criminals, including an alleged Lyari gang warfare member and a member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-London (MQM-L), in different parts of the city.

In a statement the paramilitary spokesman said that a Rangers team conducted a targeted raid in Baldia Town and apprehended a Lyari gang war member, Shahid alias Chaga. The suspect was involved in targeted killing, extortion and several other criminal cases, said the statement.

Meanwhile, in a crackdown against criminals, the Rangers’ personnel arrested a suspect named Naveed in the Jackson area.

In search operations in Liaquatabad and Gabol Town, two members of the MQM-L were arrested, who were identified as Mohammad Hussain and Javaid Akhtar Siddiqui, it said, adding that the paramilitary force also seized arms and drugs from them.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2017