LAHORE, Jan 22: Model Town division police claimed on Wednesday to have arrested 13 members of four gangs of car-lifters and robbers.

Speaking at a press conference, the Lahore SSP (Operations) claimed the gangs had been busted in the last some days during a special campaign launched in view of the increase in house robberies and car-thefts.

He said there had been an abnormal increase in car-thefts in the Model Town police division.

Four members of a gang were rounded up in a raid jointly carried out by the area police and Mujahid police squads in Garden Town.

Their ring leader was identified as Muhammad Arif, alias 86 Corola. The other members were Rana Ghulam Mustafa, Nadeem Hayat and Nasir Mahmood.

The SSP claimed the gang members had been lifting the cars of specific make and model. They confessed to lifting 12 cars. Two pistols and 11 bullets were also recovered from them.

In another raid in the same locality, Mr Cheema said, a three-members of a gang were caught with a stolen car. It’s ring leader was identified as Tanveer, alias Tanveeri and the rest of the members as Muhammad Rizwan and Muhammad Ashraf.

A two-man gang of alleged robbers was busted in Ichhra. The SSP said the police had an information that the two men were robbing a medical store on Pir Ghazi Road. A police patrol rushed to the scene and got hold of them with the help of residents.

Identified as Rashid, alias Rashi and Iqbal, alias Mukhtar, they allegedly confessed to 11 robberies. A stolen motorcycle, seven travelling cheques of Rs10,000 each, a pistol and 21 bullets were also recovered from them.

On another tip-off, the SSP claimed, the police rounded up four members of a six-man gang of robbers when they were about to enter a house in Model Town.

The arrested men were identified as Muhammad Javed, Muhammad Saleem, Muhammad Iqbal and Zahoor Ahmad while their ring leader Ishaq, alias Ishaqi and another member Haq Nawaz were yet to be arrested.

Gold ornaments, cash, cell phones and electronics worth Rs118,000 were recovered from a rented house on their identification. Three pistols, as many daggers and 30 bullets were also seized from them.