Drug peddler escapes NCB custody in Jammu, search operation launched

In an embarrassment for the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), an accused arrested in a drug trafficking case escaped from the agency’s custody, prompting a massive search operation in the region.

The accused, Aqib Bashir, a resident of Kakapora in Pulwama district, was arrested by the NCB on September 3 after 522 grams of heroin were recovered from a passenger bus in Samba district.

Bashir allegedly escaped from NCB custody in the Narwal area of Jammu during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday. Police, in coordination with the NCB, have launched a hunt to trace him. Investigators believe he could provide crucial leads to a broader drug trafficking network operating across Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.

Following Bashir’s arrest, the NCB pursued the backward linkages of the seized consignment. The trail led investigators to Ludhiana in Punjab, where a follow-up operation resulted in the recovery of an additional 197 grams of heroin.

An official said the linked Samba-Ludhiana investigation was continuing and could yield leads about other drug peddlers and kingpins active in the region.

In four operations conducted in the Jammu division over the past month, along with a linked recovery in Punjab, the NCB has seized a cumulative 6.920 kg of heroin.

According to the NCB, the drugs seized in recent operations originated in Pakistan and entered Jammu and Kashmir through the Uri sector. In one case, the agency tracked the supply chain to Leh, where an alleged supplier was arrested.

Investigations have revealed two major channels feeding heroin into the region: one originating across the Pakistan border and another operating through the Punjab-J&K corridor.

However, the escape of the accused is being viewed as a setback for the agency’s efforts to unravel both the backward and forward linkages of the drug trafficking network in Jammu and Kashmir.