LAHORE: The police on Tuesday claimed to have arrested three suspects who manhandled and robbed German tourist Florian Berg in Cantonment near the Allama Iqbal International Airport.
In a statement, the police said that the three suspects were apprehended from Ghaziabad and Burki areas. They also recovered the stolen mobile phone and camera from their possession.
Meanwhile, the suspects have confessed to robbing the German tourist. The police have initiated an investigation into the incident and are questioning the suspects.
It may be recalled that Berg was mugged by robbers near the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore on Saturday.
Berg Florian, 27, is a German national and travelled to Pakistan on a bicycle. He was camping on a road near the airport and was sleeping at the time when the incident took place.
Florian, who was seen crying in a video, told the police he was attacked by two armed men who tortured him, snatched his mobile phone, cash and camera worth Rs500,000 before fleeing.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Cantt Owais Shafiqhad had led law enforcers on an investigation on the complaint of the victim, checking the airport and adjacent areas to find the suspects. The police team also took the help of CCTV footages and other evidence.
The police also registered a first information report (FIR) under Section 382 (theft after preparation made for causing death, hurt or restraint in order to the committing of the theft) of the PPC.
In the report, Florian said that he was “visiting Pakistan on my bicycle and I set up my tent in the night of 02, August 2024 to 03, August 2024 on a piece of meadow nearby the street. At about 1:30am, two men stood in front of his tent and they just said, “cash”. In response, he told them that he didn’t have cash, following which they started to search his bags.”
He mentioned that he had valuable electronic devices such as a camera and money in his backpack, which was in his tent. “After they saw the bag they wanted to have it and I tried to escape and run away.”
However, one of the suspects caught him when he tried running, put his hands on his throat and punched him. The pain casued FLorian to dropp the backpack, after which the suspects took his camera ($2,000), AirPods ($500), IPhone ($3000), Rs5,000 cash, and a power bank.
He was unable to chase them as his knee was hurt after they punched him.
It may be noted that Florian has a 30 day visit visa for Pakistan which will expire on September 11.
