Peshawar cash van heist: Police arrest four, recover looted Rs35 million

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar Police have solved a major cash van robbery, arresting four suspects and recovering Rs35 million, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Masood Ahmed said on Tuesday.

The armed robbery was carried out in Peshawar’s Hashtnagri area where the robbers targeted a bulletproof cash van of a private bank and looted over Rs35 million, a first information report (FIR) said.

CCTV footage showed armed robbers on motorcycles looting a cash van at gunpoint.

While addressing the reporters, the SSP revealed that the van driver, Fazal Wahab, was the mastermind in the heist. He had been employed for six months but had not undergone proper background checks, police said.

“We have arrested the mastermind driver, Fazal Wahab, and recovered Rs. 3.49 crore,” said SSP Operations.

The investigation revealed that the driver had been dismissed from two or three previous jobs and his direct involvement in the robbery enabled the criminals to execute the heist, the official said.

SSP Ahmed further said that robbers used a “carry dabba“ and a motorcycle to carry out the crime.

He said that investigations also pointed to serious lapses in security procedures, as the driver should not have opened the cash van’s door.

“There were shortcomings in SOP compliance, which contributed to the successful execution of the heist,” police noted.