NCB uncovers two heroin routes from Pakistan into J&K, seizes 6.92 kg in month

Investigations by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) have uncovered two major heroin trafficking routes into Jammu and Kashmir, with the agency seizing 6.92 kg of the drug in four operations in the Jammu division over the past month, an official said on Saturday.

The two routes run through north Kashmir's Uri sector directly from Pakistan and through Punjab, according to the NCB's Jammu zonal unit.

The latest operation was conducted on September 3, when the NCB intercepted a passenger bus near the New Bus Stand in Samba and recovered 522 grams of heroin from Aqib Bashir, a resident of Kakapora village in Pulwama.

Investigators followed the consignment's backward trail to Ludhiana in Punjab, where a follow-up operation led to the recovery of another 197 grams of heroin. The two operations resulted in a combined seizure of 719 grams.

The NCB is now trying to identify and apprehend others allegedly linked to the supply, transportation and intended distribution of the consignment.

The Samba-Ludhiana operation came shortly after another NCB action in Jammu's Punjtirthi area, where 5.16 kg of heroin was seized.

The investigation indicated that the consignment had originated in Pakistan and entered Jammu and Kashmir through the Uri sector. Following the trail beyond the point of seizure, NCB investigators reached Leh, where the alleged supplier was apprehended, the spokesman said.

The two cases have helped investigators identify separate channels through which heroin is being brought into the region — one through the Pakistan-Uri route and another through the Punjab-Jammu and Kashmir corridor.

The NCB also carried out two operations in drug-affected slum areas of Jammu and Samba districts, recovering 438 grams and 603 grams of heroin respectively.

The agency said its investigations go beyond the seizure of narcotics and arrest of carriers, with teams tracing consignments backwards to their source, forwards to intended recipients and through financial transactions to identify the wider network.

“Every consignment is being pursued backwards towards its source, forwards towards intended recipients and through its financial trail, with the objective of identifying and dismantling the entire trafficking chain,” the NCB spokesman said.

Further investigations are underway to identify the sources, intended recipients, financiers and other associates and establish wider interstate and cross-border links.

The NCB has urged people to share information about the sale, storage, transportation or trafficking of narcotic drugs through the MANAS National Narcotics Helpline at 1933. The identity of informants will be kept confidential.