Sindh Rangers branch and Malir Police on Thursday carried out a joint operation and arrested six suspects for allegedly stealing goods from cargo trucks and kidnapping truck drivers on the outskirts of Karachi, according to a statement from Sindh Rangers.

Per the statement, Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) and Police, acting on sensitive intelligence information, conducted a joint operation in the Korangi area of Karachi.

“During the operation, six suspects involved in international drug trafficking were arrested,” the statement said. “Among them was Irfan alias Irfanullah, an Afghan national and a key member of the network. This year, he had been using intercity buses and trucks to transport drugs to various parts of the country.”

It said that for the past several months, the suspects had robbed trucks transporting cargo from Karachi to other parts of Pakistan, kidnapped drivers, and moved them to an undisclosed location.

“After stealing the items from the loaded trucks, they would leave the vehicles in an isolated location in Karachi.”

The statement further said that law enforcement recovered 308,308 narcotic pills, three digital scales, a counting machine, two mobile phones, three identification cards used for smuggling, and a modern weapon from the suspects during the operation.

The suspects were part of a group comprising 20-25 individuals. The arrested suspects were wanted in cases registered in police stations in different areas of Karachi. They have been handed over to the police for further investigation, it added.

Earlier this week, three terrorists, including the mastermind behind the November 2024 attack on Chinese engineers, were killed during a counterterrorism operation in Karachi’s Manghopir area.

Additional Inspector-General of Police, Counter-Terrorism Department, Azad Khan, said the slain terrorist was identified as Zafran, while two of his accomplices were also killed in the operation.

Senior CTD official Raja Umer Khattab said that the operation was jointly carried out by the CTD and personnel of intelligence agencies. He said the terrorists belonged to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).