Quetta Police Kill Three Members of Lashari Car Theft Gang in Shootout, Group Used Cryptocurrency for Vehicle Sales

Quetta (Daily Qudrat) – Quetta police have claimed to have killed three members of a car-theft gang linked to the Lashari Group in a shootout on CPEC Road near Jinnah Town police limits. The operation targeted criminals involved in stealing vehicles from Karachi and other cities and trafficking them into Balochistan.

According to SHO Jinnah Town, Zahoor Ahmed, officers from the Serious Crime Investigation Wing engaged in a firefight with the suspects. The deceased were identified as Sajid Hussain, Muhammad Panah, and Shehzad Ali, residents of Jhal Magsi district in Balochistan and Jacobabad in Sindh.

A senior Quetta police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the gang was involved in over 172 cases of car snatching, theft, and robbery across Sindh and Punjab. The group would steal vehicles from various cities and transport them into Balochistan, where they were sold via other criminal networks. Transactions were conducted through WhatsApp groups and cryptocurrency to evade detection.

Police have so far recovered 26 vehicles linked to the gang from Quetta, most of which were stolen from Karachi. DIG Quetta Police Imran Shaukat had earlier stated that complaints about stolen vehicles being sold in Balochistan prompted a special task for the Serious Crime Investigation Wing. After over three weeks of monitoring and intelligence gathering, the police recovered 20 vehicles and arrested four suspects.

According to the FIR registered at Jinnah Town Police Station, authorities were alerted that five members of the Lashari Group were traveling toward Quetta via the Bypass Road. Police set up a checkpoint at Samungli Road around 2 a.m., but the suspects opened fire and attempted to escape onto the under-construction CPEC Road. During the pursuit, the gang continued firing at police officers, some bullets hitting bulletproof vests.

The shootout ended with three of the suspects dead, while two managed to flee under the cover of darkness. Weapons, mobile phones, cash, and vehicle documents were recovered from the deceased. The FIR notes that the suspects had committed serious offenses including firing at police, resisting arrest, and killing their accomplices during criminal activities.