KARACHI: A judicial magistrate on Saturday remanded alleged drug queenpin Anmol alias Pinky in police custody till May 22 in a narcotics case registered against her.
Anmol was arrested earlier this week from her apartment in Karachi in connection with two cases pertaining to the possession of narcotics and an unlicenced weapon. She was already booked in multiple criminal cases prior to her arrest.
Earlier in the day, magistrates of districts South, Central and Malir reserved their decisions on police requests for Anmol’s physical custody in a total of 15 cases.
She was presented before Karachi Central Special Sunday Magistrate Abdul Sattar in a case registered under the Sindh Control of Narcotic Substances Act 2024 (NSA) at the Specialised Investigation Unit (SIU/CIA) police station.
Separately, a magistrate also remanded Anmol in police custody for two days in a murder case registered at Baghdadi police station. In the remaining 13 cases, the police sought her physical custody but were denied, as the courts sent the suspect on judicial remand.
In the narcotics case registered at the SIU police station, police sought her 14-day custody, but the judge approved a six-day physical remand, noting that the investigating officer’s (IO) submission was “found cogent and reasonable”.
According to the court order, available with Dawn, Anmol stated that she had been arrested in this case on May 15 and alleged “maltreatment at the hands of police”.
The judge noted the IO was required to have the suspect examined by a woman medicolegal officer and provide necessary medical treatment as advised.
According to SIU IO Shaukat Ali, Anmol was wanted in a 2025 case after a delivery rider allegedly working for her was arrested in the Central District. Advocate Liaquat Ali Gabol appeared as the suspect’s counsel.
While being presented in court, Anmol requested that her face not be covered with a chador so she could breathe properly, to which the judge advised her to keep it on so no one would disturb her.
Other cases
At her appearance before South Special Duty Magistrate Murtaza in the murder case, Anmol reportedly started shouting, claiming that the police wanted to have her statement recorded under duress.
She claimed she was brought to Karachi after being arrested in Lahore “22 days ago” and was “tortured” during custody. The suspect also termed cases registered against her as “false”.
At this, the judge assured her that “no one could harass” her in court and that she and her lawyer’s arguments would be heard in full.
According to the court order in the murder case, Anmol has been accused of employing “a number of staff in her network, including riders, suppliers, dealers, manufacturers and managers”.
It noted that the victim in the particular case died “due to the narcotic allegedly belongs [sic] to the brand of the accused”.
On the other hand, Advocate Hidaytullah Khan opposed the police request, contending that the sticker bearing the name and brand of the accused had been pasted/manipulated on the jar, which was allegedly recovered from the deceased’s body,” the order said.
The lawyer further said that Anmol’s ex-husband, Rana Nasir, had “divorced her and due to such separation, he has planned to implicate” her in committing the alleged offence.
Prior to one of her court appearances, Special Investigation Officer Darakhshan Maqbool said Anmol would be presented in “10 new cases” and four old ones. He added that her custody would be sought as the police needed to arrest other suspects who were on the run.
Past police action
Karachi Police have said a “broad-based investigation” had been launched into the case after a preliminary probe suggested the involvement of foreigners in operating the narcotics network.
Separately, the Punjab police have also woken up to three old cases registered against her and her brothers in Lahore several years ago and are reportedly planning to seek her custody from Sindh.
Following the revelations by Anmol that one of her countrywide drug supply network’s members, Tahir Saleem, belonged to Hasilpur in the Bahawalpur district, the district as well as the regional police have swung into action to nab the suspect.
