Srinagar, July 07: The Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) of Jammu and Kashmir, on Thursday, claimed to have successfully busted an inter-state narco smuggling racket operating in Kashmir. Two residents from Punjab were apprehended, and 35 packets of poppy straw were seized during the operation.
Addressing the press conference in Srinagar, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) ANTF J&K, Raj Kumar, revealed that the operation was launched on Wednesday when an Innova vehicle was intercepted at Shampora, Qazigund, in south Kashmir.
“During the search, we recovered 32 packets of poppy straw from the vehicle, resulting in the immediate arrest of the two smugglers, identified as Amandeep Singh and Manohar Singh, both residents of Gurdaspur, Punjab,” stated SSP Raj Kumar. He further added that the involved vehicle has been seized, and investigations are ongoing.
“These individuals had procured the narcotics from Kashmir and were attempting to transport them to other states for distribution,” revealed the SSP.
SSP Raj Kumar also highlighted the proactive efforts of the ANTF, stating that the task force had registered a total of five cases in the past month, with four cases filed at Police Station ANTF Jammu and one case registered at ANTF Srinagar. He explained that three of the cases involved a commercial quantity of contraband, while the remaining two cases were of intermediate quantity. The ANTF is actively investigating the entire supply chain involved in these cases and specializes in tracing the proceeds of narco-smuggling operations.
“The ANTF in Jammu and Srinagar has performed exceptionally well over the past month. We appeal to the general public to assist us by providing information about drug peddlers, which will help us curb the drug menace in Jammu and Kashmir,” urged SSP Raj Kumar.
Meanwhile, the SSP acknowledged the significant progress made by ANTF in seizing the properties of drug peddlers. Over the course of the past month, the task force has recovered 5.7 kilograms of charas, 200 bottles of codeine syrup, 900 A-Tablets, and various other substances from these individuals. SSP Raj Kumar emphasized that if it is discovered that these individuals acquired their properties through illegal means, their assets would be seized.
In response to the growing drug menace in Kashmir, SSP Raj Kumar highlighted the collective effort required to combat this issue. He affirmed that substantial work is being done to address the problem and emphasized the crucial role that the public must play in the fight against drug abuse.
