5.3 kg heroin seized from LoC village, two arrested

In a major crackdown against cross-border drug smuggling, Army and J&K Police seized 5.3 kg of heroin worth crores in the international market along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district of Jammu division.

The joint operation by the Army and police was launched after specific information was received by the intelligence agencies that a major haul of drugs had entered the country through LoC in Makri Bhawani village of Nowshera.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Rajouri, Gaurav Sikarwar said that during the operation, 5.3 kg of heroin-like narcotics substance was seized from the possession of two persons.

They have been identified as Sajan Kumar and Subash Chander, both residents of Nowshera. They have been arrested.

The SSP said, “We are trying to know the source of the drugs. This was a joint effort of the Army and police. With the cooperation of locals, we were able to catch these two people.”

The police are investigating the forward and backward linkages of the contraband. Sources informed that this is most likely a case of cross-border drugs smuggling where Pakistan-manufactured drugs are smuggled into India through borders in J&K and then sent further to Punjab and elsewhere for consumption.

The police have registered a case under Sections 8, 21, and 22 of the NDPS Act at Nowshera police station.

In June, five residents of the village were rewarded by the police for intercepting and foiling a drug smuggling bid of 9.94 kg heroin. The villagers had intercepted four narcotics smugglers in April, leading to the seizure of the 9.94 kg heroin consignment. The smugglers were also arrested.

SSP Rajouri informed that the area has been in the focus of the police as smuggling incidents had taken place earlier. “People have also started coming forward to inform us about drugs. We will continue to act specifically in those areas where we get complaints of drug smuggling,” he said.

Meanwhile, Rajouri police also seized 689 strips of banned tablets - Tapentadol (6,890 tablets), 36 strips of Pregabalin tablets (540 tablets) and six strips of Tramadol tablets (60 tablets) – from two persons who have been arrested.