Srinagar-Pathankot national highway emerging as major route for drug peddling into Punjab

Arjun Sharma

Jammu, October 12

While the police have arrested three men in a 30kg cocaine recovery case in Ramban earlier this month, they believe the Srinagar- Pathankot national highway has become a major route for inter-state drug smuggling by peddlers.

The police arrested two peddlers — Sarabjeet Singh of Jalandhar and Honey Basra of Phagwara in Kapurthala district of Punjab — as they have links to peddlers arrested earlier in Jammu and Kashmir. They were arrested in Ramban district on September 30. One person in the case was arrested by Punjab police from Ludhiana on Wednesday.

Thirty kilogram of cocaine was seized from an Innova. The peddlers were coming from Kashmir and going to Punjab after picking up the consignment from a man who lives near the Line of Control (LoC).

Punjab and J&K police have not shared information about the case officially but it has been learnt that both the counterparts are working together in the case.

Interestingly, most of the major recoveries of heroin and other narcotics took place on the Srinagar-Pathankot highway in the past. Sources in police said it is possible that the peddlers from Punjab come to Kashmir in the garb of tourists in their private vehicles and pick up the consignments.

Udhampur police had arrested a couple in September last year with 7kg heroin. Peddlers Lovepreet Singh and Mandeep Kaur belonged to Amritsar and had gone to Kashmir as tourists.

In July last year, Jammu police seized 12kg heroin and Rs 11 lakh from peddlers identified as Sarvwan Singh, Malkeet Singh, and Balbir Singh, all residents of Amritsar.

Three peddlers identified as Jagdeep Singh, Satinderpal Singh and Sunny Kumar from Amritsar and Tarn Taran were arrested by Samba police after they shot at two local youths.

In July last year, Punjab police after recovery of 16.8 kg heroin from Gurdaspur had stated that drug peddlers were using the national highway connecting Jammu with Punjab.