Karachi: After its crackdown on assassins, kidnappers and extortionists, the provincial Sindh government on Friday launched a targeted operation against street criminals and drug mafias in the city.

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah Friday convened a meeting of senior police officers, including the provincial police chief, and law enforcement agencies, ordering them to ramp up their efforts to apprehend street criminals, who have rendered the lives of the residents miserable in the city.

The meeting was convened after media reports exposed the lacklustre police performance in reducing street crimes.

The reports mapped out as many as 60 spots in the city, which were infested with crimes, including snatching of mobile phones at gunpoint, hijackings and robbery.

The chief of the Citizen Police Liaison Committee (CPLC), a public-private watchdog on crimes, told the meeting there were 25 police stations under whose jurisdictions vehicle thefts were rampant.

The meeting was also informed the snatching of mobile phones and motorcycle thefts were typically executed after nightfall and most of the time outside wedding halls, where ceremonies would culminate late at night.

The chief minister ordered the police chief to immediately launch an operation against the street criminals.

He also ordered the police to activate their intelligence network to search out the organised crime gangs.

Police were also directed to crack down on mobile phone markets where the stolen phone handsets were being traded.

Likewise, the markets of second hand cars and motorcycles, where the stolen vehicles were being sold, would also be thoroughly monitored.

The meeting was also informed that a large number of drug addicts were behind the street crimes.

The chief minister told the police to bolster their efforts to arrest drug peddlers in the city.

Tackling severe traffic jams, which the criminals to advantage of to commit crime, was also an urgent need, the meeting heard.

The traffic police chief was also ordered to improve traffic management on the roads, especially in the peak hours, to help reduce crime levels.

The chief minister also assured the police chief that an additional force of 10,000 policemen would be recruited to reinforce the existing strength.