Eight killed as Quetta police bust major drugs ring

Officials say narcotics are being used in terror financing

QUETTA:

The Quetta police said they busted a major narcotics ring during a joint operation with the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), killing at least eight alleged drug peddlers in the provincial capital on Wednesday.

Addressing a joint press conference at the Central Police Office (CPO), Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Quetta, Azfar Maisar and DIG CTD Aitzaz Goraya said that the joint operation was conducted around the main nullah in Quetta.

“Eight drug peddlers were killed after an exchange of fire, which lasted for more than one hour,” DIG Maisar said. “Police also recovered arms and ammunition from the possession of these men,” he added.

Maisar maintained that permanent police check posts would be established near the nullah to make the area drugs-free. “The government directed the police to make the city drug-free by taking action against the drug peddlers,” the DIG noted.

Thousands of drug addicts usually take shelter around the nullah, which snakes through the high-security zone of the city. After the operation panic gripped the area. The bodies of the alleged drug peddlers were shifted to Civil Hospital Quetta.

In response to a question, DIG CTD Goraya said that narcotics were also being used in terror financing. “The outlawed militant groups are generating revenue for terror financing from the narcotics,” he added.

“We are not going to spare anyone if they fire at the police,” he warned, adding that strict action would be taken against the elements involved in the sale of narcotics, including heroin, hashish and other drugs in the city.