PESHAWAR: A house located in University Town was raided on Saturday and three German citizens were taken into custody for their alleged involvement in ‘suspicious activities’, police said.

The suspects, who were interviewed after reports they were living in the house on the Park Lane Street illegally, failed to produce documents validating their stay in Pakistan.

They were identified as Curtain Wild, a colonel in German army who has spent time in Afghanistan and Kosovo, Lauren and Rhodwolf Smith.

An official said statements of the three men did not match with each other. First they claimed to be associated with anon-governmental organisation but later they said they were staff of the German embassy living in Peshawar.

The official said four Pakistanis, who were working for the Germans, had also been held. They included two security guards whose services had been acquired without informing the police.

“They said they were deputed by their embassy to keep an eye on the German-funded development projects but they had no documentary proof to this effect,” the official said.

The Germans came to Peshawar during the Soviet war in Afghanistan more than 30 years ago, he said, adding the house was raided after police came to know about their suspicious activities.

The official would not give details about the foreigners’ activities but said they used to carry out their work on a rotation basis in the garb of NGOs. He said the foreigners previously lived in a house on Jamaluddin Afghani Road and moved to Park Lane about a year ago.

Talking to reporters, Cantonment Circle SP Dr Mian Saeed Ahmed said police maintained record of all foreigners and the NGOs but the three Germans had not informed them about their stay nor did they seek any security.

He said they had opened a ‘German Liaison Office’ in the building which was being used as the office-cum-residence. He said the office had been sealed and the suspects had been taken to Islamabad for interrogation.

The official said police came to know about their illegal stay when security agencies started enlisting foreigners and NGO workers living in the city. “We have taken copies of their passports and investigation is under way,” the SP said.