LAHORE – A Pakistani-British citizen, who allegedly committed robbery of a private bank after being inspired by Netflix crime related content, was arrested by the local police on Saturday.
The police made major progress in the investigation into the robbery of a private bank in Lahore as they took not much time in tracing and arresting the suspect.
The police said that the suspect was inspired by Netflix crime-related content and series.
The police identified the suspect as Subhan and said he had lived in Scotland for six years, where he worked as a taxi driver.
According to the investigators, he returned to Pakistan on September 16, days before allegedly carrying out the robbery.
Police said the suspect purchased a pistol from Sialkot for Rs45,000 in April and later bought ammunition for Rs20,000 from Thokar Niaz Baig in Lahore. The people who allegedly sold him the weapon and ammunition have also been included in the investigation.
According to police, the suspect conducted reconnaissance of the bank before the robbery and selected the branch after assessing its parking arrangements and ease of movement.
The robbery took place at a private bank near Bhatta Chowk in Lahore’s South Cantt area, where an armed masked man allegedly looted Rs700,000 from the cash counter.
The CCTV footage showed the suspect arriving at the bank in an expensive car and speaking in English during the robbery. He allegedly held two security guards hostage at gunpoint.
The footage showed the suspect ordering one guard to help remove a suitcase from the vehicle. He then pointed a pistol at one guard and forced the other to put down his weapon before taking the guard hostage and making his way to the cash counter.
DIG Operations Kamran Faisal said the robbery was completed within nine minutes. Police received the robbery call at 9:19am and traced the suspect with the help of CCTV footage.
According to the DIG, the suspect had arrived in Pakistan from Britain on September 16 with £1,200, which he allegedly spent before the robbery. He reportedly had a dispute with his family after running out of money and subsequently planned the robbery after watching crime-related content on Netflix.
The police said the suspect initially planned to flee to Islamabad after the robbery. He allegedly intended to park his vehicle at an under-construction house, change cars and then leave for Islamabad.
The investigators said the suspect was living alone in Lahore while his family remained in Britain. The police arrested him from a private housing society shortly after the robbery.
