LAHORE:Special teams of Lahore police have been carrying out a crackdown on habitual, professional and criminal record-holder beggars to rid the provincial capital of the nuisance.

The Lahore police have arrested 4,408 professional beggars and registered 4,256 cases against them during the last 33 days.

The City Division police arrested 812 beggars, Cantt Division 637, Civil Lines Division police 1,095, Iqbal Town Division 458, Sadar Division 763, and Model Town Division police arrested 643 beggars during the crackdown.

The City Traffic Police also registered more than 200 cases against beggars disturbing citizens and the flow of traffic on roads and traffic signals. The beggars were taken into custody in collaboration with the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau as well as the Social Welfare Department.

The CCPO Lahore appealed to the general public to refrain from giving money to these professional and non-deserving people as most of them were habitual beggars and they had been involved in crimes also.