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Pakistani cryptocurrency trader Mohammed Arsalan was kidnapped, with the perpetrators successfully extorting $340,000 worth of digital assets.
Seven suspects have already been arrested in connection to the case, according to a recent report by the English-language local news outlet Dawn. An officer of the Pakistani Counter-Terrorism Department was among the arrested, while a suspected policeman is still at large.
The details
Arsalan was purportedly forced to pay $340,000 out of his Binance account to regain his freedom. The 30-year-old trader was kidnapped in Manghopir on Dec. 25 after a man named Hamid persistently contacted him to purchase US dollars.
Despite the trader’s repeated refusals, Hamid kept contacting him and eventually persuaded a friend of his to arrange a meeting. On the day before the kidnapping, three men visited the victim’s office in Saima Arabian Villas pretending to be U.S. dollar buyers.
The suspects (who were later identified) led Arsalan to a local restaurant where they were joined by additional suspects. On the next day, five men in plain clothes forcibly abducted the victim in a police vehicle — gagged.
Arsalan was then transported to a location located near a Federal Investigation Agency office in Saddar, where he was coerced into unlocking his finance account and making a transfer. These funds were then moved across multiple wallets in a presumed attempt to conceal their provenance.
The trader was then released near the Quaid-e-Azam mausoleum at 4 a.m. and was able to reach his home. The Anti-Violence Crime Cell (AVCC) launched an investigation into his report that led to the seven arrests.
Local authorities identified the suspects as habitual offenders who had previously been arrested for similar crimes. Inspector General of Police Ghulam Nabi Memon claimed the actions of the implicated law enforcement officers do not represent the agency at large and that they would not be spared or held with leniency:
“We do not spare anyone.”
Still, Arsalan argued in a Facebook post expressed frustration at the country itself. He wrote:
“I am ashamed to be a citizen of this country.”
