PESHAWAR: Hayatabad police on Tuesday claimed to have arrested a four-member hardcore gang of street criminals and recovered expensive mobile phones from their possession.
Police said in the wake of frequent incidents of mobile phone snatching, a team under the headship of SHO Hayatabad was formed to arrest the culprits. The police team while working on scientific lines started surveillance of the habitual criminals and those released from prisons recently.
The police got a breakthrough when the ringleader of an active street criminal gang was arrested. The arrested gang leader, named Himmat Khan, an Afghan national, told the names of his three accomplices to the police during interrogation. The police succeeded in arresting all the named street criminals.
Police said the four members of the mobile snatching gang were identified as Himmat Khan (Ring leader), Bilal, Idrees and Raj Dar adding that all the four street criminals belonged to the neighbouring country of Afghanistan.
During the investigation, po
lice recovered 19 precious mobile phones from the possession of the arrested criminals who have confessed to their criminal activities during interrogation. Police have also recovered crime weapons and motorcycles from these criminals.
The gang also confessed to shifting a consignment of the snatched mobile phones to Afghanistan and said the second consignment was ready to be smuggled to Afghanistan.
Police said they were working on identification of the owners of the recovered phones adding that one of the phones has been handed over to its owner after verification.
According to ASP Hayatabad, Nayab Ramzan on identification of these criminals, several other facilitators including the buyers and receivers of the stolen phones would also be included in the case.