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Unidentified gunmen kill narcotics smuggler in Kupwara
Police found the body of Mukhtar Ahmad Shah, 42, in Haridal area near the Line of Control in Karnah on Monday night after some gunshots were heard at Teetwal Karnah police post, a police spokesperson said
Unidentified gunmen killed an alleged narcotics smuggler in Karnah in Kupwara district, police said on Tuesday.
Police found the body of Mukhtar Ahmad Shah, 42, in Haridal area near the Line of Control in Karnah on Monday night after some gunshots were heard at Teetwal Karnah police post, a police spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that police launched a search operation after hearing the gunshots and the deceased’s body was found in Pingla Haridal village.
“Preliminary investigations suggest that the deceased has been killed by rival narcotics smuggling gang members or rival terror operatives,” the spokesman said.
Police said that a post-mortem was conducted before handing the body to Shah’s family. A case has been registered and police are investigating the matter, the spokesperson added.
Police said Shah was a high-profile narcotics smuggler and a person of significant interest in the region. He had been found involved in two cases of narcotics and weapons smuggling in the recent past and had confessed to orchestrating the transportation of substantial quantities of narcotics and weaponry across the border.
“His association with his brother, Sadiq Shah, a prominent figure as a launching commander and supplier of narcotics and weapons from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), underscores the depth of his involvement in these illicit activities. Sadiq Shah is himself charge sheeted in narco-terror cases and happens to be a top terrorist commander based in PoK,” the spokesperson said.
“At least six other members the deceased’s family are facing charges in connection to these criminal activities,” the spokesperson said.
