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The Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) has successfully solved the high-profile theft of 22 pieces of silver from the official residence of the Portuguese Embassy envoy in Islamabad.

This development comes even though Kohsar Police had earlier cleared and released the domestic workers named as suspects by the embassy. The investigation into the disappearance of the valuable diplomatic items reported stolen from the residence of Ambassador Manuel Frederico da Silva was fraught with setbacks.

Unsatisfied with the initial handling of the case, the DIG (Operations) transferred the investigation to the CIA for a comprehensive reinvestigation and handed over the suspects to the CIA. The case was formally registered under FIR No. 1192/25, based on a complaint filed by the Portuguese Embassy. The theft was discovered during an internal inspection of the residence, located at House No. 88, Street 36, Sector F-7/1, Islamabad.

Initial reports indicated that access to the area where the silverware was kept was restricted to a select group of individuals. The four persons of interest were identified as Shahron Bhatti, Humayun Fazal, and Venus.

The CIA conducted extensive surveillance of the residence and its surrounding areas. The survey revealed a junkyard behind the official residence. The discovery initially posed a puzzle, as sources said, “there was no way through which the silverware could have been taken to the junkyard.” The mystery began to unravel during the interrogation of the suspects. Shahron Bhatti, one of the four domestic workers, confessed to the theft.

He told investigators that he believed the silverware was simply low-value copperware, and in October 2025, he smuggled it out of his residence by hiding it under his shirt and then delivering it to the junkyard.

Investigators corroborated Bhatti’s confession, which revealed that the junkyard owner quickly cut up the silverware and sold it to three other scrap dealers, mistaking it for low-value copperware. In a positive development, all of the junkyard owners involved have since admitted to buying the stolen silverware and have agreed to provide the police with the required materials.