Pakistan court remands alleged drug queenpin Anmol alias Pinky in police custody till May 22

A Karachi judicial magistrate on Saturday remanded alleged drug queenpin Anmol alias Pinky in police custody until May 22 in a narcotics case registered against her.

Magistrates from the districts of South, Central, and Malir heard a total of 15 cases involving the suspect on the same day. Courts denied police custody in 13 of those cases and sent her on judicial remand.

What did the court decide in the narcotics case?

Anmol was presented before Karachi Central Special Sunday Magistrate Abdul Sattar in a case registered under the Sindh Control of Narcotic Substances Act 2024 at the Specialised Investigation Unit police station.

Police requested 14 days of physical custody. The judge approved six days, finding the investigating officer's submission "cogent and reasonable," and directed that Anmol be examined by a woman medicolegal officer.

What did Anmol allege in court?

Anmol told the court she had been arrested on May 15 and alleged maltreatment at the hands of police. In a separate appearance before South Special Duty Magistrate Murtaza in a murder case, she reportedly shouted that police wanted her statement recorded under duress.

She also claimed she had been brought to Karachi after being arrested in Lahore 22 days earlier and alleged she was tortured in custody.

The judge in the murder case assured her that no one could harass her in court and that her arguments and those of her lawyer would be heard fully.

Her counsel, Advocate Hidaytullah Khan, argued that a sticker bearing her name and brand had been manipulated onto a jar allegedly recovered from a deceased person. The lawyer also contended that her ex-husband had planned to implicate her following their separation.

What are the charges against Anmol?

Anmol was arrested earlier this week from her apartment in Karachi in connection with two cases involving narcotics possession and an unlicensed weapon.

She was already booked in multiple criminal cases before her arrest. Court documents in the murder case state that she is accused of running a network that included riders, suppliers, dealers, manufacturers and managers, and that a victim died due to narcotics linked to her brand.

What is the broader investigation into Anmol's network?

Karachi Police said a broad-based investigation had been launched after a preliminary probe suggested the involvement of foreigners in operating the narcotics network.

Punjab Police have also moved on three old cases registered against Anmol and her brothers in Lahore and are reportedly seeking to obtain her custody from Sindh.

Following her disclosure that a network member named Tahir Saleem was from Hasilpur in the Bahawalpur district, both district and regional police have begun efforts to arrest him.