Rs30 million looted from cash van in Karachi, police suspect inside involvement

KARACHI: A private security company’s cash van was robbed in Karachi on Friday, with police saying Rs30 million was taken and early findings pointing to what investigators described as a carefully planned operation.

According to police officials, employees of SOS Security Company had set out from Tariq Road to deliver cash to a private bank in Joharabad when the incident took place. District Central SSP Dr Imran said the van crew stopped for tea near Rizwan Park in Block 14 of Federal B Area during the trip.

Police said four suspects took advantage of the stop, boarded the parked van and seized control of it. The assailants then drove the vehicle to a lane near Altaf Pakwan, where additional accomplices and another vehicle, described as a double-cabin pickup, were already waiting.

The robbers shifted the cash bags from the van into the other vehicle before fleeing, police said. Officials added that preliminary investigation suggests the heist was carried out with planning and coordination.

Police probe possible inside job

SSP Dr Imran said the available evidence and initial investigation indicate the possible involvement of Wajid, identified as the chief crew member of the security company. Police alleged that Wajid fled along with the suspects after facilitating the robbery.

According to the SSP, Wajid had obtained the keys to the van’s cash compartment from the guards and enabled access to the money. On that basis, investigators are treating the case as a suspected inside job alongside their broader inquiry into the armed robbery.

Police have secured CCTV footage from the surrounding area in an effort to determine the route used by the suspects to escape. Investigators have also gathered evidence from the crime scene, recorded statements from eyewitnesses and launched raids at places linked to the absconding suspect, officials said.

The investigation is under way as police work to identify and trace all those involved in the robbery.