LAHORE – Another breakthrough in a high-profile case involving the kidnapping, sexual assault, and extortion of two foreign women in Lahore, with police arresting four more suspects, including a man allegedly named “boss.”
Authorities said the suspect suffered broken legs after jumping from a rooftop while attempting to evade arrest, taking the total number of arrests in the case to eight.
Raza Dar, carried out the operation with the help of his cousins and other accomplices. Police claim the two foreign nationals were abducted, held captive for two days, sexually assaulted, and forced to contact their families through video calls while their captors demanded ransom.
Dar reportedly transferred $70,000 from one victim’s digital wallet into his own cryptocurrency wallet during the ordeal. The case came to light after the father of one of the victims, who was in France, alerted French authorities.
French police then contacted Lahore Police through Pakistan’s emergency helpline in a 2-day operation that led to the women’s rescue. Police later informed Pakistan’s Foreign Office and the French Embassy about the incident.
One of the victims, Astrid Gabriel, recorded her statement before a magistrate under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code, detailing what she described as days of captivity, violence, and abuse.
In her statement, Astrid said she first met Raza Dar at a cryptocurrency event in Singapore, where he allegedly introduced himself as the son of a Pakistani minister and displayed a WhatsApp profile photo with a former Pakistani prime minister, leading her and her business associate, Stephanie, to trust him and enter into a business relationship.
She alleged that upon arriving in Pakistan, the two women were taken to an unknown house, tied up, and confined for two nights. During their captivity, she claimed the suspects repeatedly demanded access to their computers and money while threatening to kill and dismember them if their demands were not met.
Astrid further alleged that she was sexually assaulted by two men during her detention. She also claimed Raza Dar used her mobile phone to send messages to her contacts seeking money. When no one responded, Stephanie’s mother allegedly arranged $100,000, after which Raza Dar told them they were free and returned their passports.
The suspects were driving the women to the airport when she overheard a phone conversation in which someone reportedly told Raza Dar that “the boss’s instructions were different.” Moments later, following a traffic collision, the two women jumped from the vehicle and screamed for help.
The victim raised concerns over the conduct of the first police personnel who responded, alleging they attempted to take the women to the airport and later stopped their vehicle under the pretext of a mechanical fault. Fearing further danger, the women fled again before eventually encountering another police team that included female officers. “Only after the real police arrived did we finally feel safe,” Astrid said in her statement before the magistrate.
