New Delhi: A video of a ‘friendly arrest‘ of Queen Madam Pinky—a woman selling cocaine in Karachi caught Wednesday—has sparked intense debate in Pakistan after she received what many have termed “VIP treatment”.
Anmol alias Pinky, 30, was supplying cocaine to military areas and is reportedly the biggest cocaine seller in the region. According to investigators, Pinky allegedly supplied cocaine to affluent neighbourhoods, including Defence Housing Authority (DHA), a military-backed area in Karachi and Clifton, an upscale residential area in Karachi and marketed premium-grade narcotics to elite clientele under the slogan: “Queen Madam Pinky — the name alone is enough, enjoy.”
Her network also extended to Lahore, Islamabad and other cities.
The large-scale narcotics operation has become one of Pakistan’s most closely watched criminal investigations because of the public spectacle surrounding Pinky’s arrest in a joint operation conducted by Karachi police and a civilian intelligence agency
A widely circulated video showed Pinky walking through a court corridor without restraints while police officers escorted her. Critics accused authorities of extending “protocol” typically reserved for influential political figures.
A district and sessions court Wednesday granted a three-day police remand after overturning an earlier judicial magistrate’s order that had sent the accused to jail on judicial remand.
Elite cocaine supply
Following the backlash over her treatment after arrest, Sindh’s home minister, Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, ordered disciplinary action against the officers involved. Authorities subsequently suspended the investigating officer, the station house officer of Garden police station and another investigating official, Dawn reported.
Lanjar later welcomed the court’s decision to grant police custody, saying investigators had “re-examined the legal aspects” of the case and stressing that “no one is above the law.”
According to Aaj TV, Pinky was born in Karachi in 1995 and raised in the city’s Baloch Para neighbourhood. Pakistani media reports say she was exposed to narcotics networks at a young age and left home at 14, initially aspiring to become a model.
She later moved through Karachi’s social and party circles, where she allegedly built connections with influential figures that helped her enter the drug trade. She later married an international lawyer allegedly linked to the global cocaine trade, before becoming involved in narcotics trafficking herself, ARY News reported.
Investigators say the operation uncovered more than 1.5 kilograms of cocaine along with nearly seven kilograms of chemicals allegedly used in narcotics production, including cocaine hydrochloride, ketamine hydrochloride, ephedrine hydrochloride, acetone and baking powder.
Police also recovered an ‘unlicensed’ Austrian-made 9mm Glock pistol from her possession.
Police claim she operated two categories of cocaine: “White Coke,” sold for approximately 25,000 Pakistani rupees per gram, and a more expensive “Golden Category” version priced at around 40,000 rupees per gram.
During interrogation, investigators say the accused boasted that “no one in Pakistan makes better cocaine” than hers.
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‘Make this movie before Bollywood’
The arrest also revived attention around a purported leaked audio clip that resurfaced online shortly after her detention.
In the recording, widely circulated on Pakistani social media, a woman alleged to be Pinky can be heard mocking law enforcement agencies while claiming to operate freely across Karachi.
“We are working openly throughout Karachi — stop us if you can,” the voice said.
Pakistanis on social media are amused and they sealed it with a meme: ‘Women in male dominated fields.’
An X user called Aloo paratha agreed but had a suggestion—“women in male dominated field but whats pinky bro ur a gangster name like Bubbly suits u”.
There is anger, but not about the work, but the name. “Drug dealers around the world have such badass names like “el chapo”, “the blackwidow”, “el mancho” and “el patron” and we have “pinky” here..like come on,” x user Jimmy Cooks lamented.
X user Iqra sarcastically noted, “A girl can’t even have hobbies in this country.”
Others think it is a case of ‘women empowerment’ gone wrong.
Meanwhile, on Instagram, she has been labelled a ‘diva’.
Pakistanis were also concerned about whether Bollywood outruns them to make a movie on it before their industry.
“Please make this movie before Bollywood gets their hands on it”, Pakistani activist Sabah Bano Malik added.
Investigators also linked her to a 2019 case registered by Pakistan’s Anti-Narcotics Force, or ANF, in which she was accused of operating a trafficking network before allegedly fleeing Karachi for Lahore and remaining a proclaimed offender for several years.
Officials say the alleged network expanded beyond Karachi into several cities in Punjab, with authorities suspecting links to narcotics distribution at educational institutions and private social gatherings.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)