SHO booked in drug trafficking case

Police seize large narcotics haul, accused on the run

BAHAWALPUR:

A station house officer (SHO) of Punjab Police has been booked on charges of drug trafficking after authorities reportedly recovered a significant quantity of narcotics and accused him of selling drugs that had previously been seized as official case property.

Police said action was initiated following a report from a sensitive agency indicating that Dilbar Hussain, SHO of Sadr Ahmadpur East police station, was involved in narcotics distribution through a private employee.

On the orders of DPO Bahawalpur Rana Abdul Wahab, a police team set up a checkpoint where the SHO's alleged aide, Muhammad Siraj, was intercepted while riding a motorcycle.

Police claim to have recovered two packets of "ice" (crystal meth), each weighing 1.02 kilogrammes, totaling 2.04 kg, allegedly meant for sale.

During interrogation, Siraj reportedly stated that he was acting on the directions of Sub-Inspector Dilbar Hussain.

A subsequent raid on the SHO's residence reportedly led to the recovery of 43 kilogrammess of hashish and ice. However, the officer managed to flee the scene.

Police have registered two separate cases against Dilbar Hussain and his employee.

Officials further allege that during a previous posting at Samma Satta police station, the suspect had misappropriated a large quantity of seized narcotics, which were later mixed with other drugs and sold.

Investigations are under way to determine whether other officials were involved.

A district police spokesperson said the DPO had taken strict notice of the incident, suspended the officer, and initiated departmental proceedings.

"No police employee is above the law. A strict accountability system is in place, and a zero-tolerance policy against drug dealers and their facilitators is being enforced," the DPO said, adding that raids were ongoing to arrest the absconding officer.

A report by a sensitive agency revealed thatSub-Inspector (SHO) Dilbar Hussain, posted at Saddar Ahmadpur East police station, has been accused of habitually pilfering from recovered narcotics.

The report states that Dilbar Hussain joined the police as a Sub-Inspector in 2018 and served as an Investigating Officer at various police stations. Most of his postings were at Abbas Nagar and Samma Satta police stations.

He was posted as the SHO of Saddar Ahmadpur East police station for the first time on January 7, 2026.

The agency report details several incidents of alleged pilferage:

On October 21, 2023, during a checkpoint operation within the jurisdiction of Abbas Nagar police station, 5.4kg of hashish and 9kg of opium were recovered from accused Muhammad Sajid. Case No. 530/23 was registered.

Dilbar Hussain was part of the raiding party. The report alleges that the actual quantity of the large narcotics recovery was shown as less, and the remainder was pilfered.

Similarly, during his posting at Abbas Nagar police station, Dilbar Hussain was part of a raid that led to the recovery of 1.46kg of hashish from accused Roshan Zameer. It was discovered that he allegedly pilfered from this recovery as well.

Furthermore, on August 20, 2025, Samma Satta police recovered 20 kg of ice (crystal meth) from a vehicle belonging to accused Muhammad Awais, Muhammad Zahir, and Ismat.

Case 854/25 was registered under Dilbar Hussain's supervision, as he was also part of that raiding team. The report alleges he pilfered a significant quantity of the recovered ice on this occasion as well.