Police in Karachi are at their wits end on how to deal with the rising trend of thieves using trained monkeys to commit robberies in different parts of the port city.

'We have received complaints that monkeys are being used to open doors and locks from inside houses,' a police official told IANS.

Though they have not yet seen such a 'thief monkey', the official said they were on the lookout 'and hope (we) will reach the criminals who are masters of these monkeys'.

According to media reports here, such robberies have taken place in neighbourhoods like Landhi, Malir and parts of Korangi.

'The robbers have trained their monkeys to climb the walls and unlock the entrance doors of houses' and then rob the families, a report in The Nation daily said.

This new trick is gaining popularity in and various gangs have started purchasing and training monkeys for this purpose.

A resident of Malir said robbers used this trick in some houses of the area just a fortnight ago, the paper said.

In the past, thieves used a reptile that had a good grip for stealing things.

'This is an issue of serious concern because it is observed in those areas where there is no proper security system,' the daily said.