Gujranwala police catch two suspects in Pakistan's first Bitcoin robbery case

Web Desk

February 19, 2021

Digital currency is a balance or record stored in a distributed database on the internet. Photo: Geo.tv/ file

Two men arrested for stealing Bitcoin worth Rs14.7 million from foreign nationals
Prime suspect still at large, says police
A man named Rana Irfan is suspected of inviting the foreigners to Lahore by tricking them into making an investment

GUJRANWALA: Two men have been arrested in Gujranwala for their involvement in what is being reported as Pakistan's first Bitcoin robbery.

Two foreign nationals visiting Lahore on business had been taken hostage at gunpoint by the suspects. They stole cryptocurrency worth millions from them.

The police says the prime suspect is still at large.

The victims were Swiss and German citizens. The suspects robbed Rs14.7 million worth of cryptocurrency from them.

A man named Rana Irfan is suspected of inviting the foreigners to Lahore by tricking them into making an investment.

An FIR has been registered at the Race Course police station. It says Irfan invited Stephen and Maria to Lahore and kidnapped them, along with three others, from a local five star hotel as he took them on a ride "to show them the city".

The suspects reportedly sprinkled heroin on the foreigners and threatened to expose them as drug smugglers, after which they transferred Rs14.7 million of cryptocurrency to their account.

Police said the two accused were taken into custody from Gujranwala with the help of their vehicle numbers.