Major Inter-State Narcotics Module Busted in Srinagar

At least eight people have been arrested after an alleged inter-state narcotics module was busted in Srinagar on Thursday, the Jammu and Kashmir Police said. A large cache of banned pharmaceutical drugs, cash and gold has also been recovered during the police raids.

A massive haul of over 2.19 lakh tablets and capsules of pharmaceutical drugs, along with cash, gold, a firearm and other valuables, has also been recovered, the police said on Thursday.

According to the police, the alleged drug cartel, which has been traced to Chandigarh, Panchkula and Ambala, was involved in the organised procurement, transportation and distribution of banned drugs in J&K and neighbouring states.

"We have busted an organised network in the downtown area of Srinagar. So far, eight accused have been arrested. It started with the arrest of Waseem Zargar, which led to the arrest of eight people so far. Our effort was to identify the network and dismantle it," said G V Sandeep Chakarvari, SSP Srinagar.

According to the police, one of the accused has been arrested in Bengaluru, and wider linkages of the module are being investigated.

During raids and searches, police have recovered Rs 85.75 lakh in cash, along with 108 gold coins, gold biscuits and other gold articles.

Police further claimed that a .32-calibre pistol with two empty magazines and a dagger have also been recovered during the searches.

Police said investigations into the financial transactions of the module are underway, and bank lockers in the name of accused Waseem Zargar were also searched.

The searches led to the recovery of around Rs 65 lakh in cash, gold coins and biscuits. The value of the gold in the locker is around Rs 2.20 crore, the police said.

Several other bank accounts linked to the accused have been seized and, as per initial estimates, approximately Rs 1.07 crore has been found in these accounts.

Police said that, besides transport agencies used for the transportation of drugs, pharmaceutical establishments in Chandigarh, Ambala and Panchkula have also been examined.

"During the investigation, discrepancies concerning drug licences, purchaser details, invoices, payment records and the functioning of certain establishments are being examined in coordination with the concerned regulatory authorities," police said.