LAHORE: An international gang, comprising four members of the same family, was busted by the Lahore police’s Organized Crime Unit (OCU) for distributing party drugs and narcotics to young people from high-class backgrounds. According to police, the “Jordan Gang,” which consisted of four members of the same family, was supplying extremely expensive drugs to Lahore and Multan from Central Asia, Mexico, Canada, the United States, and a few other nations. Additionally, there have been reports that certain university students and other academic institutions were given access to the medications. Imran Kishwar, OCU DIG, informed Dawn that the group was busted by the squad after two months of intense intelligence gathering and covert operations. He claimed that no one knew the real identity of the elusive gang boss, Ayub Khan, also known as Jordan, who operated covertly.
A special squad of the OCU, formerly the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA), led by SP Furqan Bilal, discovered the drug trafficking network. Once several Jordan Gang members reached Pakistan, the team took the lead. With a strategy, the OCU was able to get inside Jordan’s network. According to the police officer, several purchases were made to win over Jordan’s acquaintances, which ultimately resulted in significant investigative discoveries. Police operations culminated in a planned nocturnal raid on three locations in Phase VI of the DHA, which led to the gang’s important members, Muhammad Ali, Uzair, Muhammad Nadeem, Samina Iftikhar, and Fatima Zahra, being taken into custody. But since Ayub Jordan is still working out of Thailand, he remains at large.
On social media, the gang was using fictitious identification to offer deals to students and other residents, and they were using multiple bank accounts in the names of Samina Iftikhar, a woman suspect, and her son Uzair, to get money. Her other two sons are Muhammad Ali and Ayub, also known as Jordan. Almost twelve bank accounts in the gang members’ names have been located thus far. DIG Kishwar disclosed that a few police officers and General Post Office (GPO) employees were involved in the ‘gang’s’ supply and marketing networks. According to the DIG, Ayub Khan al-Jordan, who was living in Thailand with his family, was the brother of Muhammad Ali and Uzair.
He continued by saying that Jordan had been running the network to smuggle drugs into Pakistan from the USA, Canada, and Mexico for the previous 12 years. An investigation showed that the gang used proceeds from drug trafficking to buy three villas in the DHA. These homes were purportedly being used by the family to distribute and store drugs in the province seat and other towns. An enormous stash of pricey drugs was discovered by police during the raid, according to a police officer. The drugs found included 110 kg of marijuana, 130 vape pens, 4 kg of cannabis, 4 kg of ice, 130g of cocaine, 5,500 packing supplies, 9 CBD vape pens, 9 kg of cannabis chocolates, 18 Vovo Packwoods, 21 element rolling tips, 11 nectar collector sets, and 17 Gorilla Glues.
Soon after the discovery, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz was also told by the OCU about the racket. DIG Kishwar added that the gang’s organized structure and violent tendencies were demonstrated by the seizure of nine armed guards. According to Mr. Kishwar, the drug traffickers’ method of operation involved a cunning fusion of local and foreign routes for the distribution and acquisition of drugs. “Internationally, illicit substances were smuggled with the help of corrupt officials through reliable courier services, and domestically, the syndicate used covert groups and online platforms to help spread drugs throughout the nation,” the DIG stated.
A thorough inquiry is being conducted to follow the supply chain back to the lowest echelons of distributors and end consumers. He predicted more investigation would reveal the cartel’s deeper relationships and operations. Regarding the cost of the drugs that were confiscated, CIA SP Furqan Bilal stated that 500 puffs of a substance that was taken out of the gang would have cost Rs70,000.
