KARACHI, Feb 14: A Lyari gangster, said to be wanted in over 30 cases of heinous crimes, and his woman accomplice were wounded and arrested on Saturday near Gakhar Crossing on the National Highway after a shootout with a team of the special investigation unit.

The SIU chief, SSP Raja Umer Khattab, told Dawn that the authorities had notified a reward of Rs300,000 on the arrest of Akhtar alias Akku, a close aide of gang-leader Ghaffar Zikri.

He said the SIU party set up a picket near Sassi Toll Plaza on information that one of the most-wanted criminal of the mafia-infested Lyari would be leaving with his accomplice for Thatta.

The SSP said the suspect sped up his bike opening fire on the police party when they signalled him to stop.

“The SIU staff also returned fire, hitting the fleeing suspect,” he added.

Raja Khattab said the suspect’s woman accomplice, Nazia, was also wounded when she received a bullet fired by the gangster. She was riding pillion.

Both the wounded were shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where sources at the medico-legal section said the gangster received a bullet in the abdomen. They said the woman was shot a bullet in the hip.

The SSP said the suspect was involved in more than 30 criminal cases of murder, extortion, kidnap for ransom and shootout with police, registered at the Chakiwara, Kalri and Baghdadi police stations.

Arms, drugs seized

The Site police arrested two drug pushers and seized 40 kilos of hashish from them.

The police said they received a tip-off about the transportation of the contraband narcotics and illicit weapons from the NWFP by Super Shahid coach (JA-8386).

They said a picket was set up at the coach terminal at Pathan Colony, where two suspects, carrying the narcotics in plastic bags, were arrested as they got off the coach.

The suspects were identified as Zameen Ali Shah and Ejaz Sarwar. Forty kilos of hashish, a 12-bore rifle, a pistol and over 150 bullets were seized from them.