‘No tolerance policy on drug sale outside institutes’
The 2.214kg heroin was concealed masterfully inside decoration items. PHOTO: EXPRESS
Anti Narcotics Control (ANF) Director General Major General Muhammad Arif Malik has directed the relevant officials to accelerate the ongoing nationwide drive for the apprehension of elements involved in the sale of drugs at educational institutions.
Addressing the Force Commanders Conference at the ANF Rawalpindi, he directed the force to deal with the smugglers of narcotics with iron hands. He also directed them to come hard on absconders and proclaimed offenders in drug offences and emphasized taking proactive and innovative steps to curb the drug trafficking and disruption of drug supply.
Force Commanders of all ANF Regional Directorate and Senior Staff Officers attended the conference the other day. Malik showed satisfaction with the overall performance of ANF.
Progress on counter-narcotics operations, international commitments, drug prevention, awareness programmes, and treatment of drug addicts at ANF drug treatment centres was comprehensively reviewed during the conference.
The current drug situation and emerging tendency towards the use of the synthetic drug were also analyzed during the sitting. During the conference, stringent measures were recommended against drug use in educational institutions.
Besides that, aspects related to enforcement, intelligence, assets investigation, prosecution, mass awareness, the discipline of force, best practices and infrastructure development were discussed at length, while futuristic goals were also set forth with a special focus on undertaking fresh initiatives and capacity building plans.
Last week, a bid to smuggle heroin to Qatar was foiled at the New Islamabad Airport and the passenger was arrested by the authorities. A passenger, a resident of Gujrat, was attempting to smuggle two kgs of the narcotic substance via a PIA flight when he was detained by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF).
He was shifted by the ANF for further investigation and his luggage was confiscated as evidence.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 3rd, 2021.