Karachi court grants two-day remand of two suspects in Anmol alias Pinki case

KARACHI: A Judicial Magistrate (South) on Friday extended the physical remand of two suspects into police custody in a drug case involving Anmol alias Pinki.

Police produced Aqib and Ghulam Abbas before the court and sought a 10-day physical remand, stating that further interrogation and criminal record verification were required. The court, after hearing arguments, granted an extension in physical remand and allowed police to continue questioning the suspects. The investigating officer informed the court that further investigation was underway in the matter related to Anmol alias Pinki. She was dubbed ‘absconder’ even though she is currently behind bars.

During proceedings, the court questioned discrepancies in the case record, including why the accused had been shown as not formally arrested. The officer responded that the formal arrest had not yet been recorded and said permission would be sought from the court to proceed accordingly. The court directed police to continue the investigation and ordered submission of a detailed progress report at the next hearing.

The ‘Pinky’ drug case

In earlier developments of the case, Karachi police had stated that the investigation into the alleged narcotics network linked to Anmol alias ”Pinky” had expanded beyond local boundaries, with officials describing it as a potentially transnational operation. Additional Inspector General Azad Khan had said that data retrieved from the suspect’s mobile phone revealed 869 contacts, including a large number linked to Karachi, while also indicating possible connections in African countries and other regions.

He had further stated that financial records under examination pointed to transactions worth around Rs300m, and that coordination with the FIA and cybercrime units had been initiated to trace facilitators and associated operatives.

Authorities had also claimed that several arrests were made as part of the wider network investigation spanning multiple cities, as the probe continued to develop.

According to police findings, the alleged narcotics network originated when Pinky’s former husband, Nasser, along with his brothers, relocated from Gujranwala to Lahore, initially operating guest houses and liquor-related trades before expanding into cocaine trafficking. Nasser reportedly trained Pinky in these drug related activities, and the couple subsequently extended their distribution network to Karachi and other major cities across Pakistan.

Although Pinky divorced Nasser in 2021 on the advice of a former police inspector, the network continued to expand both domestically and internationally, ultimately drawing scrutiny after authorities uncovered bank transactions totaling around Rs300m and potential operational links stretching as far as African countries.