KARACHI: Police on Friday recovered two cryptocurrency mining machines from the residence of Armaghan, the main suspect in the Mustafa Amir abduction and murder case, in Karachi’s Defence House Authority (DHA) area.
Investigation officers said the accused would send earnings of the illegal call centre to his cousin in the United States, who is a holder of a digital account in US dollars.
The cousin of the accused would send all money to a cryptocurrency account of Armaghan’s, as per the investigators. They added that the accused used to buy cryptocurrency with money earned through fraudulent means.
Earlier, details emerged regarding Armaghan’s illegal activities with revelations of merchant accounts being operated by him. The accounts, as per the investigation sources, were used to transfer money obtained through fraud and scams.
Armaghan, the sources added, used to convert the money obtained via scam into digital currency and has converted millions of dollars into digital currency since 2017.
The money obtained through forgery was transferred directly to digital ATMs, the investigation sources said, while noting that it was impossible to obtain evidence of the money converted into digital currency.
The suspect — who had closed all his accounts — had created various virtual cards using digital currency, which could then be used to withdraw money from ATMs.
The whole saga unfolded after Armaghan opened fire at a team of the Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) — a specialised unit of the Karachi police responsible for tackling cases related to murder and extortion — during a raid at his residence in Karachi’s DHA earlier this month.
The deceased’s body — found by police in a car near the Hub checkpost on January 12 and buried by the Edhi Foundation on January 16 — was later exhumed and subsequently buried after an initial DNA profiling report confirmed that the mortal remains belonged to Mustafa.
Armaghan’s physical remand extended
A day earlier, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) extended the physical remand of the prime accused, along with another suspect, Shiraz Bukhari, for another five days for another five days.
This is the second extension — with the first one being awarded on February 22 — in Armaghan’s initial four-day physical remand allowed on February 18.
During the hearing, the prosecution urged the court to extend the remand, while the investigating officer informed the court that the girl who was allegedly tortured by the suspects had been located, and her statement needed to be recorded.
The statements of witnesses under CrPC’s Section 164 would also be documented.
Armaghan’s lawyer opposed the police’s request for an extension. The suspect told the court that he was being subjected to inhumane treatment, denied food, and not allowed access to the restroom for ten days.
The court, however, dismissed the claims as unrealistic. “A person cannot even stand if they aren’t allowed to go to the washroom for 10 days,” the judge remarked.
The defence further demanded prior notification before the recording of statements and called for the suspect’s medical examination. The prosecution countered by stating that the case had caused nationwide outrage, and the suspect was being investigated for possible links to money laundering and drug trafficking.
Furthermore, the investigation officer (IO) apprised the court that a Police have formed a joint investigation team (JIT) in the much-talked-about case with Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Muqaddas Haider leading probe body.
Following deliberations, the court allowed Armaghan’s parents to meet him but warned that any disorder during the meeting should be reported immediately.
