ISLAMABAD: Pakistani police are investigating what they describe as a sophisticated cocaine network linked to an alleged female drug trafficker arrested earlier this week, while also probing possible facilitation by police officers and others who may have helped the operation evade detection, a senior Karachi police official said on Friday.
Karachi Additional Inspector General (AIG) Azad Khan told a televised news conference the investigation had widened significantly after authorities analyzed the suspect’s phones, financial records and alleged links across multiple cities, prompting the formation of a high-level joint investigation team involving several police and intelligence units.
The suspect, widely known as “Pinky” or “Anmol,” was arrested in Karachi in a narcotics case. Police say she is accused in multiple drug-related cases, while her appearance in court without handcuffs and under apparent police escort triggered criticism on social media and raised suspicions about possible links within law enforcement.
Police have since suspended several officers over alleged protocol provided to the suspect and say they are separately investigating whether any officials facilitated the network.
“This is a national case,” Khan said. “It could be a transnational case as well. This entire network is not limited to Karachi. Its tentacles are at other places.”
“We have found out that there are foreigners in this network,” he added. “There are around 20 women in this network. They are from Lahore as well. We have found out that the main shipment came from there. They came to Karachi in different ways.”
Khan said investigators had so far identified hundreds of contacts from forensic analysis of the suspect’s phone data, many of them located outside Karachi, while financial investigators were examining thousands of transactions linked to accounts allegedly associated with the network.
He said police were coordinating with the Federal Investigation Agency, cybercrime authorities, the Financial Monitoring Unit and Punjab police as part of what he described as a “broad-based investigation.”
“Whether it is the police or anyone else, we will treat them as its harborers,” Khan said, referring to individuals suspected of facilitating the network.
He said the alleged operation initially relied on dedicated riders to transport drugs between cities before shifting to local delivery services after some riders were arrested.
Khan said investigators were also examining possible links between the alleged network and deaths involving drug users.
“This is not just a case,” he said. “This is a test case. Our children are affected. Our daughters are affected. Our entire generation is affected.”
