LAHORE: The police unearthed an interdistrict gang of `extortionists` who would first resort to heavy fire to terrorise their rich targets and their families and then extort huge sums from them through international WhatsApp numbers and gateways.

The police have arrested three prime suspects allegedly associated with the network that used to emulate the extortionists operating in Karachi, and efforts are on to arrest their ringleader who was in United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The suspects had looted four families in Lahore and two in Sheikhupura, the initial findings of a police inquiry suggested.

The network was detected when armed men resorted to massive fire at the residence of an expat senior doctor in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Phase-IV here.

The doctor has been living abroad for thelast few years while his wife and two children resided in Lahore. No one was harmed in the firing.

The police called by the family inspected the `bullet-riddled` main entrance of the house and after preserving the crime scene launched an inquiry.

Cantt Division Operations SP Eesa Sukhera told Dawn as the police lodged a complaint, the family again called them and told that they received `an extortion slip` of Rs10 million.

He said a team comprising expert police officers, that was assigned the case, contacted the family members. It was informed that earlier in 2021 the family had faced a similar situation when their house came under massive fire by unknown people and later they got an `extortion slip and threatening phone calls`.

They told the police that they were so terrified that the family head moved abroad.

Defence A police had lodged an FIR (No711/21) against the unidentified attackers at that time, but the culprits could not be traced.

`The police obtained the CCTV footage and call data of the areas`, the SP said, adding that the findings showed two armed men on a bike, one of them wearing helmet and the other with a mask to conceal their identity.

Mr Sukhera said the suspects had also left their mobile phones some 20km away from the doctor`s residence to dodge the police.

However, he said, the police managed to trace one of the suspects, Qaisar Virk, raided his hideout in Sheikhupura and took him in custody. On identification by Virk, the police also nabbed his two accomplices.

He said the forensic analysis of the suspects` mobile phones showed the gang had also committed five other crimes of similar nature. They had extorted money fromthree rich persons during the last three days, he said, adding that their victims included owner of a housing society in Chuhng area and of a private education academy.

The SP said the threatening WhatsApp voice messages were sent to the doctor`s family from the mobile phone of the arrested suspect`s brother, Tayyab, who ran the extortionists` network from the UAE.

He said Tayyah used gateways and WhatsApp numbers of various countries to contact the `victim families`.

The police team traced 24 more criminal cases lodged against Qaisar Virk in Sheikhupura and Lahore, while many others against his brother.

The police recovered illegal weapons the suspects used to terrorise their victims. The suspects were handed over to the Lahore Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) for further investigation, the SP said.