KARACHI: Police have sought technical assistance from the Federal Investigation Agency for the recovery of the ransom amount — around $340,000 worth of digital coins — a cryptocurrency trader paid for his release from captivity.

The investigating officer (IO) of the case informed an antiterrorism court on Wednesday that he had written to the FIA, seeking technical assistance as the suspects held in the case, including two Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) officials, had allegedly transferred the ransom amount to their digital wallets.

The crypto trader, Muhammad Arsalan, had told the police that he was abducted on Dec 25, 2024 at 1:40am in a police mobile, without number plate, by five men in plain clothes.

They brought him near the FIA Saddar office, forcibly opened his Binance account and transferred coins worth $340,000 into different digital wallets/accounts.

They reset his cell phone, handed it back to him and dropped him near the mausoleum of Quaid-i-Azam at 4am.

Later, eight suspects were booked and arrested for their alleged involvement in the kidnapping the trader and releasing him after he transferred the ransom into their digital wallets.

IO says suspects transferred $340,000 from victim’s account into their digital wallets; ATC extends remand of eight men for five days

On Wednesday, IO Makhdoom Moinuddin brought the eight suspects — CTD constables Ali Sajad and Muhammad Umer, along with Haris Ashar, Mohammed Rizwan Shah, Noman Riffat, Tariq Hasan Shah, Muzamil Raza and Umer Jilani — before the administrative judge of the ATC in Clifton for remand.

During the proceeding, which was held inside the judge’s chamber, the IO requested the court to grant further 26-day custody of the suspects as he needed more time to interrogate them and apprehend the remaining suspects.

He described the suspects as “cunning and clever”, who were part of an organised gang.

The IO informed the court that an identification parade of the suspects was needed to be conducted. He said their absconding accomplices — Hamad, Zaman, Muzamil, Ali Raza, Rasheed Lodhi, and others — had yet to be arrested.

He stated that the ransom amount was also to be recovered from the arrested suspects and he sought technical assistance from the FIA in this regard.

After hearing the IO and the suspects, the court remanded the suspects in police custody for five more days.

A case was registered at the Manghopir police station under Sections 365-A (kidnapping or abducting for extorting property, valuable security) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997.

Only on Tuesday, the Sindh police chief had transferred CTD DSP Raja Umar Khattab and DSP Raja Farrukh Younus of the Special Protection Unit (SPU) for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) from their posts and asked them to report to the Central Police Office.

While no reasons has been cited for their transfer, it is learnt that the held CTD constables, as well as their absconding colleague, allegedly used the mobile vans of the CTD and SPU for moving the abductee from one place to another.

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2025