Suspect held for selling drugs to students on social media

Airport police arrested on Monday a man over his involvement in selling narcotics, including synthetic drugs, in schools and colleges in Rawalpindi.

Police claim that the preliminary investigation had revealed that the accused Shahzad sold crystal meth (ice), narcotic pills and hashish to students as well as teachers.

They added that the police had monitored the accused for three months based on information regarding his involvement in drug peddling.

Police said that they had recovered 500 pills from the accused that were smuggled from the Netherlands. More than 3.5 kilogrammes of hashish and 200 grams of crystal meth were also seized from the accused, police added.

Potohar Superintendent of Police (SP) Waqas Khan, who is supervising the investigation, said that the accused used the personal inbox of social networking websites to take orders and supply drugs. He received orders from various schools and colleges on the internet and then supplied drugs as required.

Investigators added that the accused was skilled in using social media and apps. This way he was able to escape detection from law-enforcement agencies, said an investigator. He added that the accused had provided key information including the method of the crime in the initial investigation.

The accused is believed to be a member of an organised group, with police confident of more arrests based on the statements provided by the accused. Police believed that the information could be pivotal in unravelling the network and nabbing the mastermind.

Investigators said that they seized two smartphones from the accused, and they would be sent to the Federal Investigative Agency for forensics once the Airport police has completed its initial investigation.

The drugs and pills recovered from the accused will be sent to Punjab Forensic Science Agency for chemical analysis, for which the sampling process has been completed, police added.

A case has been registered against the accused at the Airport police station, with the police hopeful of getting his physical remand after producing him in a local court on Tuesday (today).

Police added that they are compiling a list of schools and colleges where the accused sold drugs. “This will give the police access to drug users,” said an investigator.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 23^rd, 2023.