3.5-kg heroin seized in Srinagar, LoC resident caught

Jammu, September 21

The J&K Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) has seized 3.5-kg heroin from a smuggler in Srinagar. The contraband is said to be worth around Rs 7 crore in international market. Zaheer Ahmad, a resident of Keran along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kupwara, was arrested after the police received specific information about his presence in Srinagar.

During a press conference in Jammu, SSP (ANTF) Raj Kumar said the arrest was a major success for the ANTF. An FIR has been registered and further investigation to expose the backward and forward links of the arrested smuggler is going on. The SSP said heroin was most likely smuggled from Pakistan into India. “We are looking into details how the consignment reached this side. Whether it was smuggled or airdropped through a drone,” Sharma told reporters. More arrests are expected.

He said the ANTF registered 15 FIRs this year, mostly related to the seizure of commercial quantities of narcotics from different parts of the J&K and arrested the accused even from outside the UT, including Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Delhi. “The properties raised by the smugglers are being identified and confiscated. Several bank accounts have already been frozen,” he added.

Identifying assets of smugglers: SSP

• SSP Raj Kumar says the Anti-Narcotics Task Force has lodged 15 FIRs this year related to seizure of drugs.
• The properties raised by smugglers are being identified and confiscated, he adds.