Man held with 1-kg ‘charas’

The Anti-Narcotics Cell has arrested a drug smuggler and seized 1.106 kg of ‘charas’ from his possession. The accused has been identified as Iftikhar Ahmad, 48, son of Abdul Ahmad, and a resident of Chandigarh. He was presented in court today and was remanded to six-day of police custody.

The arrest was made following a tip-off received on Friday, indicating that a Chandigarh resident, allegedly involved in selling ‘charas’ in the tricity, would be delivering a consignment near Suraj Cinema in Sector 1, Panchkula. Acting on the information, ACP (Crime) Arvind Kamboj and Anti-Narcotics Cell incharge Praveen Kumar led a team to the location and arrested the suspect. Upon searching, ‘charas’ was recovered from his possession. The accused failed to produce any licence or justification for carrying the substance.

Preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused used to procure ‘charas’ from Kullu in Himachal Pradesh and distribute it in the Panchkula region. A case has been registered under Section 20(B)(II)(C) of the NDPS Act at the Sector 7 Police Station in Panchkula.

According to DCP Amit Dahiya, “We will interrogate the accused to find out who he was in contact with, who all are part of this network and who is the kingpin,” said Dahiya.