Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 20: Police today said that five drug peddlers were arrested in Anantnag, Baramulla and Ganderbal during intensified anti-drug operations carried out under the ongoing ‘Nasha Mukt Abhiyaan’, which also led to the destruction of illegal poppy cultivation, demolition and attachment of properties linked to narcotics trade, cancellation of licences and awareness programmes across the Valley.
A police spokesperson said that in Anantnag, police destroyed illegally cultivated poppy crops at Batagund Verinag in the presence of an Executive Magistrate and registered a case at Police Station Dooru. In Baramulla, joint teams of Police, Excise and Agriculture Departments destroyed illegal poppy cultivation in Tangmarg and Kunzer areas after identifying the land owners involved.
In Handwara, police also destroyed illegal poppy cultivation in Mangwalpora Kralgund and registered a case under the NDPS Act against the accused involved, the spokesperson said.
Police said five drug peddlers were arrested in Anantnag, Baramulla and Ganderbal during separate naka checking operations and heroin- and charas-like substances were recovered from their possession. A vehicle used in the commission of the crime was also seized in Ganderbal. “Strict legal and administrative action is being taken against everyone involved in drug trafficking and substance abuse,” the spokesperson said.
In another development, police in Anantnag installed a GPS-enabled tracking anklet on an accused involved in an NDPS case after he was granted bail by the court. Police said the device would help monitor the accused’s movement and ensure compliance with bail conditions.
In Srinagar, a two-storey structure built on state land and linked to a wanted drug peddler involved in multiple NDPS cases was demolished Lal Bazar area of Srinagar. The property, spread over around nine marlas, was valued at nearly Rs 1.50 crore, police said.
In Pulwama, police attached a vehicle allegedly used in narcotics smuggling in connection with an NDPS case registered at Police Station Pulwama.
The spokesperson said police in Handwara also secured cancellation of 14 driving licences and two vehicle registration certificates of persons involved in NDPS cases as part of the anti-drug campaign.
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