LAHORE: The police claim to have arrested a young man hours after he looted Rs700,000 by getting a “bank robbery task” from the PUBG game at Bhatta Chowk in Defence here on Friday.

DIG Operations Faisal Kamran told mediapersons that the robbery took place at around 9:30am near Bhatta Chowk. He said a masked suspect entered the bank premises after taking the guard hostage. He then reached the cash counter, along with the hostage guard, collected cash and escaped the scene.

The crime was committed within a few minutes.

The DIG said that soon after looting the cash, the suspect drove back to his home which showed that he was not a habitual criminal.

DIG says financial difficulties pushed UK-returned youth to commit crime by seeking help from the online game

He said police teams were formed soon after receiving an emergency 15 call about the robbery, adding that the police traced him through the Safe City and private cameras and reached his house, located a few minutes’ drive away from the bank. The DIG said that the suspect was identified as Subhan, who had returned to Pakistan from the UK on Sept 16. He said the suspect was living alone in Lahore as his family was settled in the UK.

He said that the suspect had been playing the PUBG game for the last many years. On the day of the incident, he got a ‘task’ from the game to rob a bank and acquired a mask and a pistol from somewhere to execute the crime.

He said the police interrogated the suspect when he talked about the game, keeping in view such incidents in the past involving young men.

He said that the arrested suspect also briefed the police about the methods described in the game to carry out a bank robbery.

The DIG said that the suspect was planning to flee to Islamabad with the looted money when the police raided the house. He said the weapon, looted cash and a briefcase were recovered from him.

He said that the suspect had changed his vehicle’s number plates to mislead the police.

The DIG said the suspect had £1,200 when he reached Pakistan, however, he spent the entire amount and had been demanding more money from his family. When his family refused, he planned the bank robbery to overcome his financial constraints, he added. He said that according to initial investigations, he was influenced by online gaming and web series.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2026