PESHAWAR: The police have claimed a significant decline in the rate of street crime in the provincial capital.

Police officials told Dawn that the street crime incidence went up last Ramazan, the month of fasting,

They said that multiple complaints of mobile, motorbike and car snatching were lodged with the police against armed motorcyclists prompting them to identify the areas, which reported most cases.

“We analysed street crimes, the areas where the majority of them were reported and the people with criminal records and devised a fresh strategy to control those cases. The street crime fell sharply after Ramazan 15 as the Ababeel Squad and City Patrol Force stepped up patrols in those areas,” a police official said.

He also said that the police traced the majority of the snatched phones and found out that they’re transported to Afghanistan.

On May 4, the city police arrested 19 people for allegedly committing robberies in Pishtakhara, University Town, Tehkal, Sarband, Gulberg and Tatara areas claiming that the detainees belonged to Afghanistan and Kohat, Khyber and Peshawar districts.

In a statement, the city police said that they recovered 122 mobile phones, 15 motorbikes, 1.5kg gold, Rs0.8 million cash, four cars, two wristwatches, an LED TV and a battery, a UPS device and weapons, including a Kalashnikov, a rifle, seven pistols and rounds, from the arrested men.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2023