LAHORE, Dec 4: The Muller & Phipps Pakistan, a multinational pharmaceutical company, has lost drugs worth millions in three strikes by armed robbers at its warehouses in Punjab in less than seven months.
After the third strike at Lahore on Sunday morning, the company officials suspect that the one gang is involved in the plunder.
They say the police have so far failed to find a clue to the gang which took away drugs from its warehouses in Sahiwal and Bahawalpur earlier this year.
The company’s Lahore warehouse/office, situated near Social Security Hospital on Multan Road, was robbed by 12 gunmen who came there on the pretext of meeting an employee.
They tied eight people, including five employees and three family members who had come to see some workers, with ropes and snatched 11 cell phones and Rs18,000 in cash from them in eight hours’ operation. They loaded drugs worth millions on a truck and drove away safely.
On Sunday night, company officials had put the loss between 45 and 60 million rupees. But fresh stock taking on Monday brought the worth of loot down to Rs 20.80 million.
It was the second major robbery in Lahore this year, involving the theft of drugs worth millions. Earlier on June 5, the warehouse of SERVIER Research & Pharmaceuticals Pakistan on Sheikhupura Road was looted in an identical fashion.
Muller & Phipps assistant manager Faisal Bin Ahmad told Dawn on Monday that the Pushto-speaking bearded robbers had pillaged company’s Sahiwal warehouse on April 3 and Bahawalpur warehouse on Aug 14.
He said the drugs might be sold at low rates in tribal areas and Afghanistan as their marketing elsewhere in Pakistan could lead to the arrest of the gang.
Ruling out the possibility some company employees’ involvement in the three identical robberies, he said the police always started interrogation by questioning eyewitnesses (employees) and that it could not find any suspect among the staff. He also ruled the possibility of business rivalry.
Meanwhile, a case has been registered by Sabzazar police on the complaint of warehouse manager Habibur Rehman.