LAHORE: The Lahore Police have arrested six suspects and recovered hundreds of kites, 17 spools of kite string and a quantity of kite-manufacturing material in a series of separate raids carried out across the Samanabad, Iqbal Town, Misri Shah and Shalimar police divisions, according to official statements issued by police authorities.
According to an official statement, Samanabad and Iqbal Town police conducted joint action against violators of the kite-flying ban and arrested three law-breakers. Police recovered 17 spools of kite string and dozens of kites from their possession.
The statement added that material used for preparing kites was also recovered from one of the arrested suspects, indicating that the accused was involved in manufacturing rather than only retail sale. Cases have been registered against all three.
In a separate action, Misri Shah police arrested a kite seller and recovered 280 kites from his custody, the police statement said.
The third action, and arguably the most significant in terms of what it reveals about the trade, was carried out by Shalimar police. Acting on confidential information, the Shalimar team arrested two kite sellers and recovered 50 kites from their possession. According to the police statement, the suspects prepared kites themselves and then delivered them online to different areas of Lahore. A case has been registered against both accused.
The online delivery model is not new to investigators. Lahore police have repeatedly encountered vendors who take orders through social media and messaging applications and then move small consignments by motorcycle — a method that avoids the fixed shopfronts and wholesale markets that enforcement teams traditionally monitor. Earlier this year, Johar Town police intercepted a suspect who had arrived to deliver an online order, recovering more than 250 kites and 43 chemical string reels from his custody.
Kite flying, manufacturing, selling and transporting remain prohibited in Punjab outside narrowly notified windows. The Punjab Home Department has stated that the ban on kite manufacturing and kite flying remains in force across the province, with those found involved in kite flying facing up to five years in prison and fines of up to Rs2 million, while individuals involved in manufacturing, selling or transporting kites and kite strings face up to seven years and fines of up to Rs5 million. Limited permission for Basant celebrations in Lahore this year was granted only for February 6, 7 and 8.
Because the offences are cognizable and non-bailable under the current legal framework, police can arrest suspects without a warrant — a power reflected in the immediate registration of cases in all three actions reported this week.
The latest arrests fit into a much larger enforcement drive. Punjab Police reported earlier this month that 9,272 cases had been registered for violations of the kite-flying law across the province over the preceding seven months, with 8,202 suspects arrested and kites, string and other paraphernalia recovered. The Lahore region accounted for the highest share at 4,367 cases — roughly 47 per cent of the provincial total, underlining the capital’s position as both the cultural heartland of kite flying and the centre of its illegal supply chain.
The stakes are measured in more than seizure figures. Chemically coated and metallic strings have historically caused fatal throat injuries to motorcyclists and children, and have triggered power outages when they come into contact with overhead transmission lines. The recovery of 17 string spools in a single Samanabad–Iqbal Town action is therefore treated by investigators as more serious than the raw kite count suggests.
Investigations in all three cases are under way, and police are expected to pursue the supply lines behind the arrested vendors, particularly the manufacturing setup traced through the material recovered in the Samanabad–Iqbal Town action. Officials have signalled that action against home-based kite production units and online sellers will continue in the weeks ahead.
The Lahore Times will update this report as further details are released by police authorities.
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