Kulgam

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is conducting searches at 10 locations across Jammu and Kashmir in connection with a Lashkar-e-Taiba-linked cross-border terror conspiracy case, officials said on Saturday.

The searches are being carried out in Kupwara, Kulgam, Bandipora, Baramulla and Sopore areas of Jammu and Kashmir, according to officials.

Further details are awaited.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, major offensive against the drug network, Anantnag Police on Saturday launched a Narco CASO (Cordon and Search Operation) across 20 locations in Waghama, identified as a drug hotspot in the district.

As per the release, during the coordinated operation, 13 narco peddlers were picked up for questioning and further legal action. The operation was aimed at identifying and dismantling the local network involved in the illegal drug trade and disrupting the supply chain at its source.

The large-scale operation reflects Anantnag Police’s zero-tolerance approach towards drug peddling, with sustained action being taken against individuals and networks involved in pushing narcotics into society, the release said. 

“Anantnag Police will continue such intensified and intelligence-based operations against narco networks to protect the youth and realise the goal of a Drug-Free Anantnag,” the release said. 

On September 5, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Jammu Zonal Unit uncovered two separate routes being used to smuggle heroin into Jammu and Kashmir, with four interceptions in the Jammu Division and a linked operation in Punjab leading to the seizure of 6.920 kg of heroin.

According to the NCB, the supply routes included direct smuggling from Pakistan through the Uri sector and an indirect route through Punjab. The agency said two of the operations were carried out inside drug-affected bastis in the Jammu-Samba belt.

In the latest operation on September 3, NCB officials intercepted a passenger bus near New Bus Stand in Samba and recovered 522 grams of heroin from a resident of Kakapora in Pulwama district.

Following the seizure, the agency traced the backward linkage of the consignment to Ludhiana in Punjab, where a follow-up operation led to the recovery of another 197 grams of heroin.

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The linked Samba-Ludhiana operation has so far resulted in the seizure of 719 grams of heroin, with further investigation underway to identify other persons involved in the supply and distribution network, the NCB said.