Drug smuggling through Srinagar-Pathankot road rampant: Police

Arjun Sharma

Jammu, October 13

Since the seizure of 30-kg cocaine from two Punjab-based peddlers in Ramban district recently, the J&K Police have been suspecting that the Srinagar-Pathankot highway has become a major route for inter-state drug smuggling.

Past recoveries

• Two of Amritsar caught carrying 7-kg heroin in Udhampur in September 2022.
• As much as 12-kg heroin, Rs 11 lakh seized from two of Amritsar in July 2022.
• Last year, the Gurdaspur police seized 16.80-kg heroin which reached there through highway.

The police are also trying to know from the two arrested peddlers, identified as Sarabjeet Singh of Jalandhar and Honey Basra of Phagwara in Kapurthala district, if they have links with peddlers arrested earlier in J&K. The police had on Thursday claimed that the duo took consignment in Srinagar which was sent by smugglers from Kupwara. The two peddlers were taking the drugs to Punjab in their car when they were caught on September 30.

Police personnel of Punjab and J&K are working together on this case. Interestingly, most of the major recoveries of heroin and other narcotics have taken place on the Srinagar-Pathankot highway in the past.

Sources in the police think Punjab peddlers may have been coming to Kashmir in the garb of tourists to take away consignments in their vehicles. “There is a major possibility that those being sent to J&K are small-time peddlers who are in contact with only one person of the drug cartel and do not know much details. This is making things difficult for the police as the links are broken,” sources said.

In September last year, the Udhampur police had arrested a couple with 7-kg heroin. Lovepreet Singh and Mandeep Kaur belonged to Amritsar district and had gone to Kashmir as tourists.

In July last year, the Jammu police seized 12-kg heroin and Rs 11 lakh from peddlers, identified as Sarwan Singh, Malkeet Singh and Balbir Singh, all from Amritsar. Three peddlers — Jagdeep Singh, Satinderpal Singh and Sunny Kumar from Amritsar and Tarn Taran — were arrested by the Samba police after they shot at two local youths.

Last year, the Punjab Police seized 16.80-kg heroin from Gurdaspur had stated that peddlers had been using the highway connecting Jammu with Punjab for smuggling.

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