KARACHI, Pakistan — In a stunning breach of public trust, a Karachi sessions court on Monday sentenced six police officers to life imprisonment after they were caught trafficking 77 kilograms of charas (hashish) in an official police van, reported by Dawn News.
The convicted men — all serving with the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) in Jamshoro — were identified as Ghulam Abbas, Muhammad Yaqoob, Aijaz Ali Mallah, Abdul Hameed, Rahib Hussain, and Ahmed Nawaz. Judge Abdul Hafeez Lashari also imposed a fine of Rs500,000 on each, with an additional two-year prison term under Section 155-C of the Police Order, 2002, for misuse of official authority.
“These were not ordinary criminals. These were men entrusted with the law — who used their uniforms, weapons, and a government-issued vehicle to commit one of the gravest betrayals of public duty,” the court stated.
The police officers were apprehended in July 2021 after Boat Basin police acted on a tip-off and intercepted a CIA vehicle in Clifton. Inside were two large sacks containing 77 kg of charas. All six suspects were in uniform at the time of arrest.
During trial, the defense claimed the seized drugs had melted and could not be verified, but the court dismissed this, noting that charas is susceptible to deformation. The accused also alleged arrest by Rangers at Jamshoro Toll Plaza — a claim the judge found baseless and unsupported by evidence.
In his ruling, Judge Lashari emphasized the damage to institutional trust: “When those sworn to uphold the law become its violators, the fabric of justice begins to unravel. This is not just a crime — it’s a moral collapse that demands systemic accountability.”
The case was registered under Sections 6/9(C) of the Control of Narcotic Substances Act.
