Karachi police on Sunday claimed to have arrested six policemen belonging to Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) Centre Jamshoro on charges of attempting to sell seized drugs in the city, officials said.

The FIR of the case was registered at the Boat Basin police station on behalf of the state through a police inspector.

According to the FIR, a police party was patrolling near Clifton beach on Saturday night when, on the basis of a tip-off, it flagged down a police vehicle for checking. The police mobile's driver and another person sitting in the front identified themselves as constables, both in civilian clothes. Four others riding the vehicle in police uniforms identified themselves as policemen Aijaz Ali, Rahib Husain, Ahmed Nawaz and Abdul Hameed.

During inspection, at least 20 packets containing 23 kilogrammes of hashish and a bag containing 44 packets of the same drug weighing 53kg were found in the mobile and seized.

The policemen “did not present any road certificate nor were the narcotics sealed”, according to the FIR.

The policemen were arrested on the spot along with four sub-machine guns (SMGs) and 30 rounds and their van.

The suspects revealed that they belonged to CIA Jamshoro, according to the FIR. They said they had been sent to Karachi by their in-charge, Nisar Bhatti, to sell drugs to an unidentified person in Shirin Jinnah Colony located in Clifton.

The FIR was registered under the Control of Narcotics Substances Act, 1997. Some sections of the FIR carry the death penalty or imprisonment for life or imprisonment up to 14 years as quantity of the seized contrabands exceeded the limits enshrined in the law concerned.

Meanwhile, Hyderabad DIG Sharjeel Kharal formed a committee headed by DSP Complaint Cell Manzoor Panhwar and comprising DSP Shabbir Sarki and other officials as members to conduct a probe into the matter.

Jamshoro SSP Javed Baloch sealed the CIA centre as an investigation into the incident went underway.

Additional input by APP.