SUKKUR: Jacobabad police claimed to have arrested four people, including an ASI and a constable of police posted in Special Branch, Sukkur police, on charges of smuggling gutka, Pan Parag, mawa and other contraband items from Balochistan.

Jacobabad police officials said that they intercepted a rented van coming from Balochistan and found after searching the vehicle 36 kilograms of the contraband items in the possession of ASI Mohammad Shah Pathan and Constable Aftab Ahmed Jatoi.

They said the van driver Zahidur Rahman Soomro and another occupant of the vehicle identified as Mohammad Saleem Sanjrani were also arrested and booked under relevant sections of the law.

Sukkur Special Branch SSP Muneer Khuhro told Dawn that the van had been hired by Afghan Consulate in Karachi to transport three to four Afghanis including two patients to Chaman border.

He said that police officials were escorting the van carrying Afghan consulate staff and Afghani nationals. “We often depute our officials to escort the consulate staff to Balochistan-Afghanistan border as a routine practice,” he said.

He said the department had nothing to do with the arrested police officials, who had been booked by Jacobabad police. They were investigating the case as they had already received several complaints against the held officials, he said.

He said that the department had suspended services of the officials and would take further action against them after completing the investigation.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2023