The police Thursday claimed to have seized brown sugar worth Rs 70 crore in the international market from northern Kupwara district.
Addressing a press conference, senior superintendent of police Kupwara Sriram Ambarkar said the preliminary investigation into the case has revealed that the consignment was transported from Pakistan.
He said following “specific inputs” about transportation of a 19-kg brown sugar consignment, a checkpoint was established in Kralpora area during which a cab was intercepted.
“Two persons in the Sumo vehicle (JK01R-4584) were carrying brown sugar smuggled from Pakistan for supply to other parts of Kashmir. They were apprehended,” Ambarkar said.
He identified the two detained persons as Zameer Ahmad Raina (28) son of Muhammad Ismail, and Reyaz Ahmad Badan (24), son of Abdul Qayoom Badan, both residents of Amrohi area of Karnah.
“This (seizure) is a great success for the police because we have busted a gang involved in a transport of narcotics through the Line of Control,” a police official said.
He said a drive has been launched by the police against drug menace in Kupwara district and “with such recoveries, the police will make great strides to uproot the drug menace across the district”.
Ambarkar alleged that like Pakistan supports militancy, “it is disrupting the future of youngsters in Kashmir with drugs. But the police will not allow them to succeed”.
A case under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, vide FIR number 2/2019, has been registered and further investigation into the incident is on, the SSP said.
In July 2017, at least 40-kg heroin and brown sugar worth Rs 200 crore in the international market was seized from a truck coming from Pakistan through the Salamabad, the police had said.
The seizure was done at the Salamabad trade facilitation centre in Uri town along the Line of Control.
The police had said that the narcotics substances were hidden in wooden boxes in the truck and were seized during checking of the vehicle.
In February 2015, the cross-Line of Control trade was suspended for several days after a Pakistani driver was arrested following alleged recovery of 300 packets of narcotics from his vehicle in Uri area of Baramulla.