Police claimed on Thursday to have arrested at least three members of a 50-member gang of Afghan origin criminals operating in Karachi for the last four years. The gang members were arrested while committing a robbery in Defence Housing Authority (DHA).The arrests were made during a raid in DHA within the limits of the Darakhshan police station. According to the police, an exchange of fire took place between the police and suspects when the force tried to foil an attempted robbery at a bungalow located on Khayaban-e-Bukhari.The police reached the site after receiving information from Madadgar 15, SHO Aurangzeb Khattab said, adding that when the police surrounded the bungalow, the suspects tried to escape under the cover of fire. The police returned the fire and managed to arrest three members of the gang, the SHO said. They were later identified as Jilani alias Javed, Shahzada alias Dilawar alias Khalid and Hussain. The police also claimed to have recovered robbed cash, mobile phones, three pistols and a rifle from the suspects.SHO Khattab said the gang leader, Abdul Bari, was killed during an encounter with the police in Nazimabad in the first week of March. The officer added that the gang comprised at least 50 members, all of whom were of Afghan origin. The gang were involved in over 100 cases of crime, particularly house robberies in various localities of the city, including DHA, Clifton, Nazimabad, Gulshan-e-Iqbal and PIB Colony, SHO Khattab said.According to the SHO, the gang committed robberies after completing proper homework. He also claimed that some other members of the gang had been arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department. SHO Khattab said the criminals were operating in Karachi at least for the last four years."They are hardened criminals. They hailed from Afghanistan and used the Quetta route to travel to Karachi," the SHO said, adding that the police had also received threatening calls from Afghan SIM cards from the gangsters.