ISLAMABAD: The unrestricted flow of illegal weapons, reportedly from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dara Adam Khel market, has fuelled violent robberies in the federal capital, in which seven people were murdered from March to August.

The police blamed the surge in violence on illicit guns, ‘gangs’ from across the country, and drugs, particularly crystal meth.

Sources told Dawn that there was a sharp increase in the robberies from March 1 to August 31, as 1491 incidents were reported to the police. In 59 incidents, robbers shot and injured victims; in 22 incidents, culprits either stabbed or beat up victims during the crime, they said, adding that in 13 incidents, the culprits abducted and looted the victims.

During the investigation of a robbery incident in which the culprits murdered a man and injured his daughter in the area of Shams Colony in July, the investigators found out that the suspects hailed from Karachi, they added.

Police say over 1,400 robberies occurred since March; most stolen iPhones make their way back to market

Police said most criminals use handguns in robberies, but in some cases they also came across robbers armed with Kalashnikovs, adding that during interrogation it was revealed that the culprits got the weapons from Dara. According to police, a pistol costs Rs5,000 to Rs20,000 in Dara and it can be easily transported to the capital. Police said people bring weapons and narcotics to the capital stashed in hidden compartments of their vehicles.

“It is humanly impossible to check and search every vehicle and individual entering the capital, so a large number of weapons and a huge quantity of narcotics is transported to the capital easily,” the sources said, adding that so far the recoveries made by the police were either due to the dumb luck or tip-offs. Those arrested for possessing an illicit weapon can get bail easily since it is a bailable offence, the officials said.

The inflow of a large number of weapons in the capital has resulted in violence even during petty crimes, as in some cases the culprits shot and injured the victims for pleasure, the sources said, adding that most of the culprits involved in the street crime were under influence of the drugs, particularly crystal meth.

Where do iPhones go?

Street criminals mostly stole mobile phones during these crimes.

According to the police, these phones were sold again with the help of hackers who would reinstall the software and change the IEMI number of the phone.

iPhone ranks second in the number of phones snatched or stolen by culprits, police sources said, adding that the hackers, using iCloud would send a message with a link to the owner of the stolen iPhone asking them to click on it to trace their mobile phone.

Once the link is opened, the phone is hacked, the sources said, adding that the majority of the stolen or snatched iPhones were smuggled to the Gulf countries or neighbouring Afghanistan for repackaging as well as for personal use.

Those iPhones, whose owner did not click the link were sold in scrap, they added.

Besides, the culprits also attempt to sell stolen mobile phones in markets using forged CNICs.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2023