KOHAT, Feb 4: Three more traders were kidnapped by unidentified men during the last 24 hours with their two vehicles they were travelling in from Kohat to Peshawar. This raises the number of victims to 12 during the past 20 days.

One of the victims, Asad Aziz, owner of Asad Optico, was kidnapped in Peshawar on Sunday evening in his car bearing number Peshawar-B 1984 while on his way to home from Kohat. When he did not reach his home the family members contacted his friends saying that he had not reached home till late Sunday.

The president of Mushtarika Markets Association has registered an FIR with the city police on Monday.

In another incident, two employees of Sarhad Tobacco Company, who were on a cigarette publicity campaign in Kohat, were abducted in their vehicle by some unidentified armed men.

One of the victim, Shakirullah had last contacted his wife in Peshawar on his cellular phone that he was on his way to home and would reach there within an hour after which he and his partner Waheed Akhtar have gone missing.

The police was unable to say whether the two were kidnapped in Kohat, Darra Adam Khel or some other place.

Earlier, nine people had been kidnapped in Kohat and the outskirts during the last 20 days whereas few had been released after paying ransom.

The business community has expressed anguish over the increasing kidnappings for ransom in Kohat.

They said they were virtually in a state of permanent fear and the police had failed to provide them security.

GANG BUSTED: The Kohat police also claimed on Monday to have busted a gang which was reportedly behind the recent spate of kidnappings.

They are interrogating its leader, police sources told Dawn on Monday.

They said a history sheeter, Kashif Pir, has been arrested during an operation conducted in the city in connection with kidnappings and robberies. Later, the police shifted him to an unknown place for interrogation while more arrests are expected.

A few months back Kashif was arrested for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping of a district assembly councillor and his friend, but later police had to release him when her mother, a woman councillor accused the District Nazim and the SSP of victimizing political opponents in the assembly.

Since then he was on the watch list and when the CIA laid hand on some evidence, he was arrested from Kohat main bazaar, the police added.

He was being suspected of involved in the kidnapping of a young boy missing for the last 21 days. A ransom of Rs two million was demanded for the boy’s release.

Preliminary reports said that the gang operated from the Orakzai Agency where its members were protected by a group of tribal chiefs and proclaimed offenders.

SMUGGLING BID: The Kohat customs mobile staff on Sunday foiled an attempt to smuggle huge quantity of black tea from Parachinar to Kohat and impounded three trucks on Rawalpindi Road. The customs staff claimed the tea was worth Rs three million.

During the last month the customs staff has seized 45,000kg black tea which was smuggled from Afghanistan into Kohat.

After a lull of one month smuggling of illegal items from Afghanistan has resumed, mostly of the electronics goods, black and green tea, vehicles and other house-hold items.

The legal tea merchants are forced to purchase the smuggled tea to compete in the market.

The tea merchants say that smuggled tea was being sold under fake brands openly without any check depriving the government of revenue.