Indian BSF detains alleged Pakistani drug smuggler at Wagah border

Indian authorities claim seizure of 435 grams of contraband suspected to be heroin

LAHORE:

Indian border guards have detained a Pakistani truck driver for allegedly smuggling narcotics into the country via the Wagah border crossing. 

The Border Security Force (BSF), India's paramilitary force tasked with securing the Pak-India border, claimed that the truck driver, Abdul Wasay, had the contraband hidden inside the truck.

Sources said that Wasay, a resident of Chaman in Killa Abdullah district of Balochistan, was entering the neighbouring country with a cargo of dry fruits under the Afghan-India transit trade protocol. Indian authorities claimed the seizure of 435 grams of contraband suspected to be heroin from the truck.

Reportedly, BSF handed over the truck driver to India's Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for investigation.

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A meeting was held between Pakistani and Indian customs authorities on the issue on Monday at the Pakistan-India trade gate, but the truck driver and the truck carrying the goods have not yet been released by the Indian authorities.

Cargo under the trade protocol uses Pakistani territory to enter India through the Wagah border crossing. The vehicles are checked and scanned before entering India while the same procedure is followed for trucks entering Pakistan.

Afghan trucks are used for commercial goods, but only Pakistani drivers are allowed to take the trucks across the Indian border.