J&K: Police seize 202 kg of poppy straw; arrest 2 smugglers

Jammu and Kashmir police on Sunday arrested two drug smugglers and seized 202 kg of poppy straw in Udhampur district.

Senior superintendent of police, Udhampur, Rayees Mohammad Bhat said that two alleged inter-state narcotic smugglers were arrested and 202 kg of poppy straw was seized from a Punjab-bound truck. “Jatinder Masih and Jatinder Singh, both residents of Punjab, were arrested and booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act,” he added.

It is to be noted that this is the second major haul of poppy straw in the district this month. On December 2, police arrested three inter-state narcotic smugglers after 420 kg of poppy straw was recovered from a truck in the district.

Earlier, in August this year, Jammu and Kashmir police seized 51 kilograms of high-grade Afghan-origin heroin worth over Rs 250 crore from a Punjab-bound truck and arrested the driver and his helper both.

According to the official figure, 64 kilograms of charas, 7.5 kilograms of charas powder, 194 kilograms of bhang and bhang dust, 925 kilograms of fukki, 915 kilograms of poppy straw and 3.75 kilograms of brown sugar were seized in the year 2016 from different parts of Jammu and Kashmir. Similarly, in the year 2015 police had registered 375 cases and arrested 442 people and 13 others have been booked under PSA.

Importantly, Pakistan uses terrorism and drugs as a primary tool to exploit the youth of Jammu and Kashmir and disturb the stability of the country.

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