KARACHI, Sept 22: The Anti Car-lifting Cell (ACLC) of the police on Wednesday arrested 11 alleged car jackers, including three policemen, and recovered six stolen vehicles from their possession.
A gang of eight members was picked up on a tip off and five vehicles were recovered from their possession, SSP ACLC Bashir Memon told Dawn. He said that their ring leader, Ahmed Palal, had confessed to his involvement in car jackings and disposal of such cars in Balochistan. Palal told police that he had been operating since 1996 and never arrested.
Among the arrested criminals was an ASI posted in Larkana, Ameer Ali Shah who, the SSP said had thrice been arrested earlier. He had been suspended and eventually dismissed from service, Mr Memon added. However, Ameer Shah was reinstated as ASI in February 2004.
The other arrested gang members have been identified as Saifal Khan, Abbas Ali Shah, Abdul Hameed, Inayat, Allah Rakhio and Mohammad Sualeh. Mr Memon also made mention of another gang, saying that a recruit constable, Javed Iqbal, and constable Waseem Qureshi, posted in Khuwaja Ajmer Nagri police lines, were arrested along with a suspect, Mohammed Irfan on Wednesday. They are also involved in car jackings for the purpose of using the vehicles in robberies.
Inspector Kansondean of the ACLC, North Nazimabad, said that an unregistered Mehran 2004 was recovered from the suspects. He said three of their accomplices, including a policeman, were absconding.
The suspects, while in uniform, had snatched the car at gunpoint in Ferozabad and then committed a robbery in a house in North Nazimabad using the same vehicle, he said.
The inspector said that the gang members did not transport vehicles out of the city, but would abandon them after committing robberies. The police were conducting raids on the lead provided by the arrested suspects to apprehend their accomplices, he added.
Meanwhile, 14 vehicles were either hijacked or stolen on Wednesday. They include five cars snatched at gunpoint and three cars that were stolen. Among the rest were five motorbikes which were hijacked and another one that was stolen in different areas of the city, police said.