Cracking a whip on drug smugglers in north Kashmir, Police and paramilitary forces seized 108 kg brown sugar and 3.23 kg heroin during the past 10 years.
This is seen as a success by the forces facing a challenge in stopping smuggling of narcotics through the Line of Control across north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.
The authorities have made several arrests and registered 174 cases in connection with the seized narcotics.
“The huge quantity of brown sugar as well as heroin was smuggled from across the border during the last one decade,” a top Police official said. “The seized narcotics were meant to supply to other parts of the country and revenue generated out of it were to be used for the militant activities across the J&K.”
Police said it seized over 91 kg brown sugar during the last three years in Kupwara district.
Police said that in 2019, Police recovered 36.52 kg brown sugar and 1.78 heroin in the region.
During the current year, the authorities recovered 35 kg brown sugar from across Kupwara district.
In 2018, the authorities recovered 20.2 kg brown sugar, and 450 gm heroin, in 2017, they recovered 3.5 kg brown sugar and 1 kg of heroin.
Similarly the authorities recovered 1.1 kg brown sugar in 2016, 4.2 kg brown Sugar in 2015, 600 gm brown sugar in 2014, 3 kg brown sugar in 2013, 1.5 kg brown sugar in 2012 and around 3 kg brown sugar in 2011.
The highest narcotics have been seized during the past three years.
“This was possible because of better synergy between all the security agencies operating here,” Senior Superintendent of Police, Kupwara, Shari Ram Amberkar said.
A Police official said over 12 villages were located along the Line of Control in Tanghdar sector ahead of the border fence, making smuggling of narcotics relatively easy for the smugglers.
“To check the use of women carriers for smuggled narcotics, nine female personnel of the Assam Rifles at had been deployed at the Sadhna Pass in July 2020 as part of series of steps to contain the smuggling of narcotics from across the border,” he said.