E-Paper
NCB busts twin Pak heroin routes into J&K via Uri, Punjab
Four interceptions in month expose cross-border networks reaching as far as Leh and Ludhiana; NCB raids drug-hit pockets in Jammu-Samba belt.
Prefer HTon Google
Jammu: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has uncovered two active heroin supply routes from Pakistan into Jammu and Kashmir—one directly through the Uri sector in Baramulla district and another indirectly via Punjab, officials said on Saturday.
A month-long, intelligence-led crackdown by the NCB’s Jammu zonal unit led to four major interceptions, resulting in a total seizure of 6.92 kg of heroin.
Two operations targeted vulnerable, drug-affected bastis (clusters) in the Jammu-Samba belt, where traffickers exploit local populations.
Samba seizure leads to Ludhiana
In the latest operation on September 3, the NCB intercepted a passenger bus near the new bus stand in Samba, recovering 522g of heroin from Aqib Bashir, a resident of Kakapora in Pulwama district.
Tracking the consignment’s backward linkages, NCB teams traced the trail to Ludhiana in Punjab, where a follow-up raid yielded an additional 197g of heroin.
The joint Samba–Ludhiana operation netted 719g so far, with investigations on to trace other peddlers handling supply, transport, and distribution.
Uri to Leh corridor unearthed
The Punjab link follows an earlier operation in which the NCB seized 5.16 kg of heroin.
Investigations found that the drugs originated in Pakistan and entered Jammu and Kashmir through Uri. Sleuths tracked the route beyond the point of seizure all the way to Leh, where the main supplier was arrested.
The remaining seizures included 438g and 603g recovered during targeted raids inside vulnerable slums in the Jammu-Samba region.
Officials said that the agency’s focus extends beyond seizing contraband and arresting couriers. Every shipment is being tracked backward to its source, forward to its end recipients, and through its financial trails to dismantle entire networks.
The NCB urged the public to share intelligence on drug trafficking via the national MANAS helpline (1933).
