Over 600 Robbers Arrested In Tehran Amid Unrest In Iran - Police Commander

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th November, 2022) Tehran police have arrested 604 robbers amid unrest and an increased crime rate in Iran, Tehran Police Commander Hossein Rahimi said on Tuesday.

"Some 604 robbers engaged in theft in apartments, theft of vehicles and theft of mobile phones were arrested," Rahimi said, as quoted by the ISNA news agency.

Rahimi also noted that the police eliminated 14 gangs, several members of which were among the robbers arrested.

During the detentions, police officers confiscated 13 combat and hunting weapons, and 77 bladed weapons as well as 238 cars and motorcycles, the commander said. The police also identified and destroyed 33 dens of robbers, 13 hide-outs of buyers of stolen goods, 3 gang hide-outs and 54 drug-selling points, Rahimi added. He noted that 907 cases were opened.

The arrests of the robbers took place amid mass riots in Iran, which began in mid-September in connection with the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody.

Amini was detained by Iran's morality police in Tehran on September 13 for wearing an "improper" hijab, an offense punishable by prison time. The woman was sent to a center belonging to the police department and military intelligence for an explanatory conversation. In the center, Amini reportedly had a heart attack, after which she was immediately taken to hospital where she died on September 16.

Many Iranian citizens held the morality police responsible for Amini's death, alleging that law enforcement officers hit her in the head. Iranian women started publishing videos on social media of cutting their hair, burning hijabs and rusari kerchiefs, which they are obliged to wear on their heads.

Iranian authorities have accused Western countries of fueling mass riots, and European diplomats were given a note of protest in connection with anti-Iranian media reports and calls to overthrow the country's government.