Srinagar: Police in Shopian and Kulgam arrested two drug peddlers and recovered a huge quantity of contraband substances from their possession.
A police spokesperson informed that during checking at a checkpoint established at New Bypass Furrah Crossing, search of a vehicle (JK03D-9184) yielded 55.5 kilograms of poppy-straw concealed in four bags. The driver of the vehicle identified as Muzaffar Ahmad Bhat, son of Ghulam Nabi Bhat, resident of Doonipora Bijbehara, Sangam Anantnag, was arrested on the spot and vehicle seized, police said.
Acting on a specific input, police at a checkpoint established at Darbagh Wachi, intercepted one Imtiyaz Ahmad Dar, son of Ali Mohammad Dar of Darbagh Wachi, and recovered 2.4 Kgs of cannabis sticks from his possession.
Investigation into both the cases has been taken up to trace the source of the contraband, identify its intended destination, and expose the wider nexus of drug traffickers involved in the illegal trade, police said.
Two “inter-state narcotic smugglers”, both residents of Punjab, were also arrested in Udhampur district on Friday with police seizing poppy straw from their possession, officials said.
The accused were caught during vehicle checking while they were en route to Punjab from Kashmir on their trucks, a police spokesperson said.
Kulvinderpal Singh, from Mohali, was arrested at Battal Chowk near Majalta along Jammu-Srinagar national highway. Police recovered more than six kilograms of poppy straw from his truck during checking, he said.
He said police also recovered five-and-a-half kilograms of poppy straw from another truck driven by Harpreet Singh of Hoshiarpur, who was also arrested on the spot.
Both the arrested peddlers were booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the spokesperson said.
